New Food Pyramid Calls for Placing Real Food at the Center of Health
- by Natasha Hobley
- Published
- Holistic Health
Under direction of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the U.S. government has released an updated food pyramid and dietary guidelines for Americans. The new guidelines prioritize “high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains,” while also avoiding highly processed foods and refined carbohydrates.1
“My message is clear: Eat real food,” Secretary Kennedy said at a press briefing. This is the first time the recommendations call for Americans to avoid eating highly processed foods.1
The guidance also recommends significantly cutting back on highly processed refined carbohydrates such as white bread, flour tortillas and crackers.
The guidelines shape the foods served in government-funded schools, hospitals, prisons, and military bases, as well as what is available from federal assistance programs such as WIC, a supplemental nutrition assistance program for women, infant, and children.1
Media Criticizes Kennedy’s Guidance to Eat “Real Food”
Kennedy has urged Americans to avoid sugar and processed foods and, instead, to “eat real food,”2 but numerous media outlets have framed Kennedy’s proposals as having “turned the food pyramid on its head. ”
Most criticism of the new food pyramid is focused on Kennedy’s renewed emphasis on eating fats and red meat. The New York Times wrote:
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 document, which is far shorter than previous versions, codifies some of Mr. Kennedy’s frequent talking points, like recommending that people cook with butter and beef tallow, despite the fact that scientific evidence does not support doing so.1
Sugar Industry Paid for Studies that Largely Shaped Existing Beliefs on Fats
What critics fail to mention—and chose to ignore—is acknowledgment of the historical role played by the sugar industry and major food corporations marketing highly processed foods in shaping dietary guidelines. That omission is notable given that The New York Times itself reported in 2016 on internal documents showing how the sugar industry funded research to minimize sugar’s link to heart disease, while shifting blame onto dietary saturated fat.3
The article reports on a researcher at the University of California in San Francisco who discovered and published sugar industry internal documents suggesting that five decades of research about the role of nutrition and heart disease were largely shaped by the sugar industry. The documents show that the Sugar Research Foundation paid Harvard scientists to publish a review of research on sugar, fat, and heart disease. Studies villainizing fat and downplaying sugar were then handpicked by the foundation and then published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1967.3
“They were able to derail the discussion about sugar for decades,” said Stanton Glantz who discovered the documents and then published his findings in a JAMA Internal Medicine article.3
The saturated fat warnings have remained a cornerstone to many dietary guidelines, reflecting the ongoing influence of large food corporations in the development of public health policy.
When the sugar industry controversy emerged in the 1960s, sugar was among the few dominant players in the food sector, at a time when most Americans still consumed largely whole foods. Today, highly processed foods—many of which are high in sugar—account for an estimated 60 to 70 percent of the American diet, significantly expanding the ability of large food corporations to shape public and medical policy through industry-funded research and financial influence.
HHS Advice to Avoid Added Sugars, Increase Protein Intake from Animals and Plants
The new guidelines also advise people to avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and other added sources of sugar. They also state that protein sources can come from animal sources like meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy, as well as plant sources such as legumes, nuts and seeds, and soy. The New York Times objected to this recommendation, stating that research suggests getting more protein from plant sources can reduce risks of cardiovascular disease and early death.1
Kennedy’s newest guidelines reflect his acknowledgment of Big Food’s influence in the shaping of food policy. In November 2024, Kennedy stated that “we are betraying our children by letting food industries poison them.”4
American Heart Association Voices Concern About New Food Pyramid
In response to the newest guidelines, the non-profit American Heart Association (AHA) issued a statement voicing concern that the guidelines could lead people to consume too much saturated fat and sodium. The AHA, which funds cardiovascular research and publishes widely read guidelines on prevention of heart attacks and strokes, also emphasized that its guidelines will continue to encourage consumption of low-fat and fat-free dairy products.5
“For decades, the Heart Association has issued science-based recommendations for healthy eating. We remain committed to working with the administration to reduce the burden of chronic disease, particularly for the next generation, and to help consumers make healthier choices for themselves and their families,” the statement noted.5
In the past, Kennedy has accused the AHA of taking millions of dollars from the largest processed food companies. Corporations like PepsiCo, CanolaInfo, General Mills, Kroger, and the United Soybean Board have consistently been large funding sponsors of the trade organization or part of their Food Systems Forum, which is supposed to be a forum to “tackle challenges to create a healthier environment for nutritious, accessible, and affordable food for everyone, focusing on sustainable nutrition security and improving public health.”6
A fact sheet released along with the updated food pyramid states that the newest guidelines will restore “science and common sense”, putting “real food back at the center of health,”7
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