Déjà Vu and Some Things New in the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines

From 2007 to 2013, I worked to shape national nutrition policy, first as associate executive director and then executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. In those roles, I led the team that added the MyPyramid.gov tools, which replaced the 1992 Food Pyramid. For the 2010 process, I led the team that established the state-of-the-art evidence analysis system (now known as the Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review – NESR.usda.gov) and the team that created MyPlate, a simple visual symbol launched in 2011 to help consumers choose a variety of healthy foods.

So it was meaningful to me to be invited to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and USDA event in Washington, D.C., last week celebrating the release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), 2025–2030. Much has changed in federal dietary guidance, including the fact that MyPlate has now been replaced by the “upside-down triangle,” as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins labeled it, but some of the recommendations build on prior guidance.

Recognizing that the 2025–2030 DGA is a priority within the Make America Healthy Again initiative, HHS and USDA deserve praise for highlighting dietary health and the importance of reducing related chronic illnesses in national discussions. All in all, as some have criticized, I think there are stranger things than the upside down pyramid! However, the 2025–2030 version of the DGA and its retro symbol raise concerns and lack clarity in some areas.

As principal of a food and nutrition regulatory affairs consultancy, I remain very closely focused on national nutrition policy. Here are some of my preliminary perspectives in the wake of the new DGA rollout.

The Positives

For consumers and nutrition educators, returning to a simpler approach of the past—a nine-page document for consumers at realfood.gov—is beneficial. Refreshing the cue that symbolizes the DGA recommendations will bring new attention to improving dietary intakes and health.

Prioritizing high-quality, nutrient-dense whole-food protein at every meal aligns with previous recommendations within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges for protein intake while promoting greater consumption within the range. Other recommendations include eating dairy foods and healthy fats at meals, consuming vegetables and fruits throughout the day, prioritizing whole grains over refined carbohydrates, and avoiding added sugars, all of which is consistent with past guidance. Recommending whole-fat dairy, which is new this time, makes sense if within a healthy eating pattern. Showing the relative priority of these foods in the upside-down pyramid is effective if consumers seek more advice.

The Concerns

The Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a report that revised the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, was not open for public comment, and panel members involved in its preparation seem to have conflicts of interest using the same kinds of concerns of some critics of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee chartered on December 9, 2022. USDA and HHS will likely explain their reasoning for this approach as they add more resources to the DGA website.

The Foundation report identifies where research is lacking and needs to be expanded to support the DGA recommendations, but recommendations are still given. As the USDA and HHS work to expand their resources to implement the DGA, it will be important for the agencies to explain why public health recommendations do or do not need to be based on moderately strong or strong evidence, and to provide more clarity on their evidence review approach, e.g., to inclusion/exclusion criteria and the controls for bias in their evidence reviews.

Another missing piece is a clear, evidence-based link between healthy eating patterns and food that is safe, affordable, accessible, and nutritious. Food safety has been linked to past recommendations, but no emphasis is placed on it here. Food safety issues also increase health-care costs for children and adults.

The Confusing

The shortened DGA policy may leave many consumers without the context they need. It offers no clear examples of what a healthy 2,000-calorie eating pattern looks like, even though the guidance repeatedly relies on this reference. That reference diet appears only in a separate document on realfood.gov, accessible to those willing to dig deeper. Portion size is mentioned, but eating frequency is not, and the policy fails to explain how energy balance and physical activity relate to a 2,000-calorie diet.

The advice to limit or avoid highly processed packaged, prepared, and ready-to-eat foods must always be paired with reducing added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and sodium. This is not consistently reflected in the resources on the realfood.gov website. Because there is no universally accepted definition of “highly processed,” the term should always be clearly defined when used.

Claims linking certified food colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, and low- or no-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners to chronic illness require stronger evidence, whether considered individually or collectively, and remain largely suggestive. The USDA and HHS will likely have to provide consumers with a compelling rationale for applying the recommendation to satisfy the value proposition. For example, many non-nutritive sweeteners are naturally plant-based, and diabetics and others on weight-management regimens rely on the foods that use these ingredients. And many “artificial preservatives” are derived from natural sources, promoting food safety and protecting consumers.

The Next Steps

As the HHS and USDA secretaries mentioned last week, there will be numerous upcoming events and updates as federal programs relying on the DGA are retrofitted to incorporate the 2025–2030 recommendations. We should expect opportunities to collaborate with HHS and USDA through the socioecological framework, which emphasizes the role of all sectors in making the DGA actionable and relevant to consumers.

Learn More

Join a community conversation, taking place on January 15, 2026, from 1:00–2:00 p.m. CST, on the impacts, challenges, opportunities, and implications of the newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Read IFT’s Comments on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 Report.

Check out some of the thoughts on U.S. dietary guidance shared by Joanne Slavin, PhD, a former member of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.