Sorting Fact From Fiction in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Here is what nutrition science says about the new Guidelines:

Guideline 1: “Eat the right amount for you.”

Fact check: This sounds good, but might be hard to do while following the rest of the recommendations.

Guideline 2: “Make protein a priority at every meal. Eat a mix of animal and plant proteins. Aim for 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (82–109 grams for a 150-lb person).”

Fact check: Most people naturally get enough protein by eating a wide variety of plant foods. Animal protein is associated with increased risk of chronic disease and should be avoided in favor of the plant protein sources listed like beans and legumes. Avoiding processed meat significantly reduces the risk of heart disease and colorectal cancer.

Guideline 3: “Have 3 servings of dairy daily, including full-fat dairy.”

Fact check: Avoiding dairy, especially full fat dairy, is best. Soy products, like soy milk, are great for heart and bone health, and reduce risk of breast cancer. Dairy is the number one source of saturated fat and does not provide any nutrients that can’t be found through plant-based foods. Dairy is also associated with higher risk of certain cancers. Many people are unable to digest dairy products.

Guideline 4: “Eat fruits and vegetables throughout the day.”

Fact check: This is true. Fruits and vegetables are great for your health. The suggested 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of veggies is a good start, but it’s better to eat more if you can.

Guideline 5: “Include ‘healthy fats’ from meats, eggs, seafood, nuts, seeds, dairy, olives, avocados, butter, and beef tallow. Keep saturated fat to 10% of calories.”

Fact check: Many of these foods, like meat, eggs, and full fat dairy, contain far more unhealthy fats than healthy fats. The best sources of essential healthy fats are seeds like chia, flax, and hemp. Keeping saturated fat low is good, but it will be tough if you eat a lot of animal foods.

The top contributors of saturated fat to the American diet are cheese, pizza, ice cream, and eggs; limiting processed foods will help, but not as much as removing animal foods.

Guideline 6: “Choose fiber-rich whole grains (2–4 servings/day). Avoid refined carbs.”

Fact check: Whole grains are great for health. The Guidelines are unwise to discourage eating refined carbs because some amount of processed grain foods, like certain cereals or tortillas, can still be fine. Healthy diets often have more than 2–4 servings of grains a day. In fact, processed cereal, flour tortillas, and crackers have all been associated with reduced risk for diabetes.

Guideline 7: “Limit highly processed foods, added sugars, refined carbs, artificial flavors, dyes, preservatives, and non-nutritive sweeteners.”

Fact check: Too much sugar and junk food is unhealthy, but not all processed foods are bad. Processed plant-based foods can actually help improve health and weight loss. Sugary drinks like sodas are especially harmful. When buying packaged food, plant-based and low-fat options are best.

Guideline 8: “Limit alcoholic beverages.”

Fact check: Actually, no amount of alcohol is good for you.

Guideline 9: “Vegetarians and vegans fall short on many nutrients.”

Fact check: Getting complete nutrition is easy. Build your diet from grains, beans, vegetables, and fruit, and include a reliable source of vitamin B12, such as a typical B12 supplement.