• Kennedy Flips Food Pyramid to Emphasize Red Meat and Whole Milk (Alice Callahan and Dani Blum, NY Times, 1-7-26)
"After years of being advised to avoid eating too much red meat and foods high in fats, Americans are now being told to embrace them. The Trump administration released new dietary guidelines on Wednesday, pushing Americans to prioritize protein and cut back on added sugars and processed foods.
"For months, Mr. Kennedy and Dr. Marty Makary, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, had said that the new guidelines would end the so-called “war” on saturated fats, prompting consumer health groups and nutrition experts to worry that the new guidelines would recommend that people consume more saturated fats. That move would put people’s health at risk, experts said, since saturated fats have been shown to raise cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
"The administration kept the saturated fat recommendation unchanged, suggesting that no more than 10 percent of daily calories should come from the fats.
"But the guidelines also include the contradictory advice to prioritize foods that are high in saturated fats, such as red meat, full-fat dairy products and butter and beef tallow. Consuming one eight-ounce rib-eye steak, for example, would put many people over their daily saturated fat limit."
While research suggests that getting more of your protein from plant rather than animal sources can reduce risks of cardiovascular disease and earlier death, the new guidelines don't steer people toward plant proteins.
Would you take nutritional advice from Donald Trump?