What’s The Deal With The New US Diet Guidelines?

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

No question/request too big or small 😎

❝Would love to hear your thoughts on the new U.S. dietary guideline pyramid❞

Science-wise, it’s a mixed bag!

The good

The new guidelines advocate for reducing one’s intake of ultraprocessed foods, and especially to reduce one’s intake of added sugars.

About ultraprocessed foods: technically they’re not all bad, but one really can’t go wrong with avoiding them to be on the safe side, if you don’t want to have to research every product to find out, per: How Processed Is The Food You Buy, Really?

As for why you might want to skip them, see: How Likely Is It That Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) Will Kill You?

And about sugars: From Apples to Bees, and High-Fructose Cs: Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same? ← this is important to understand, and a lot of people don’t!

The new guidelines also still say to eat plenty of fruit & veg, as well as whole grains.

This too is supported by good science, and we’ve written about this before, for example:

• What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?
• Grains: Bread Of Life, Or Cereal Killer?
• Should You Go Light Or Heavy On Carbs?
• The Real Magic Number For Daily Fruit/Veg
• Why You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Fiber (And How To Fix It)
• What Do The Different Kinds Of Fiber Do? 30 Foods That Rank Highest
• What Matters Most For Your Heart? Eat More (Of This) For Lower Blood Pressure ← Spoiler: it’s fiber

Here’s a good guest article about the global scientific community’s position on this:

More veg, less meat: the latest global update on a diet that’s good for people and the planet

The bad

It now puts meat and dairy in the “eat most” category, having flipped the triangle to put it in a broad base at the top, even going so far as to say to include red meat, butter, and beef tallow.

This is very much against the global scientific consensus.

For example:

• Health Risks Associated with Meat Consumption: A Review of Epidemiological Studies
• Meat Consumption and the Risk of Cancer: A Critical Evaluation of the Constraints of Current Evidence from Epidemiological Studies
• Red Meat Consumption (Heme Iron Intake) and Risk for Diabetes and Comorbidities
• Associations of Processed Meat, Unprocessed Red Meat, Poultry, or Fish Intake With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality
• Meat consumption: Which are the current global risks? A review of recent (2010-2020) evidences

And as for butter, a recent huge study with nearly a quarter of a million participants found that every 10g increase butter consumption was associated with:

• 12% higher cancer mortality
• 15% higher all-cause mortality
• 17% higher CVD mortality

However, in the realm of small changes, substituting even 10g/intake of total butter with an equivalent amount of plant-based oils yielded 17% lower total mortality.

You can read the study in full, here: Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality

And you can read our article about it, here: Butter vs Plant Oils: What The Latest Evidence Shows

Another big problem with the advocacy for eating lots of red meat and butter and suchlike is that this takes one well over the 10g limit for saturated fats (which these new guidelines still recommend as the limit).

For more on why that matters so much, see: What’s The Truth? Can Saturated Fats Be Healthy?

As for how this controversial advice got into the guidelines…

❝Conflicts of interest:

The scientific report accompanying the new guidelines disclosed that several committee members had financial relationships with food industry groups.

Three of nine members received grants or consulting fees from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. One also received support from the National Pork Board.

At least three members were linked to dairy industry organizations❞

Read in full: Prioritizing protein? What the new US dietary guidelines get right—and wrong—according to nutrition experts

Meanwhile, the American Heart Association has said in response:

❝For example, we are concerned that recommendations regarding salt seasoning and red meat consumption could inadvertently lead consumers to exceed recommended limits for sodium and saturated fats, which are primary drivers of cardiovascular disease.

We encourage consumers to prioritize plant-based proteins, seafood and lean meats and to limit high-fat animal products including red meat, butter, lard and tallow, which are linked to increased cardiovascular risk.❞

Read in full: New dietary guidelines underscore importance of healthy eating ← a very polite title

The downright confusing

Well, this is also bad, but it’s simply more confusingly bad.

The new guidelines no longer give a recommended unit-based numerical limit on alcohol, and instead simply say “Consume less alcohol for better overall health”, without saying how much less.

At first that may seem like an exhortation to avoid it entirely, but they also go on to say “People who should completely avoid alcohol include pregnant women, people who are recovering from alcohol use disorder or are unable to control the amount they drink, and people taking medications or with medical conditions that can interact with alcohol. For those with a family history of alcoholism, be mindful of alcohol consumption and associated addictive behaviors.”

…which rather implies that other people should not completely avoid alcohol, and/or should not be mindful of alcohol consumption and associated addictive behaviors.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that alcohol increases all-cause mortality at any dose (even “low-risk drinking”): Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Mortality Among Older Adults

…and the World Health Organization has declared that the only safe amount of alcohol is zero: WHO: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health

On which note, no, not even the famous “small glass of red” is recommended: Can We Drink To Good Health?

For how that myth got started, see French biochemist Jessie Inchauspé’s explanation: Are You Making This Alcohol Mistake?

Want to learn more?

Check out:

The FDA Just Redefined “Healthy”—But How?

Take care!