The Trump administration on Wednesday (January 7, 2026) urged Americans to avoid highly processed foods along with added sugars while touting consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy, foods many nutritionists had previously discouraged.
The new federal nutritional guidelines emphasise protein more than previous recommendations, releasing a flipped-pyramid graphic that places meat, dairy and healthy fats on the same tier as vegetables and fruits, with fibre-rich whole grains like oats at the bottom tip.
Reaction from nutritionists and public health advocates was mixed: the advice to cut sugar and processed foods was a positive, but the emphasis on animal protein and full-fat dairy was "contradictory."
"I found the whole thing to be muddled, contradictory, ideological and very retro," said Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition at New York University.
Health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr vowed the new guidelines would "revolutionise" U.S. eating habits and "make America healthy again" — the catchphrase of the MAHA movement that's perhaps best known for vaccine resistance.
