MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released new dietary guidelines, which he says aim to, quote, "revolutionize our food culture," end quote.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The guidelines come with a new food pyramid replacing the current MyPlate symbol. And they upend years of nutrition advice.
MARTIN: NPR's Allison Aubrey is with us now to tell us more about this. Good morning to you, Allison.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So what are the main changes in these new guidelines?
AUBREY: Yeah, well, for decades, Americans have been advised to eat low-fat dairy and limit red meat. But that advice has been turned on its head. At the very top of this new pyramid is a cut of steak, a wedge of cheese and a whole turkey or chicken. Here's Secretary Kennedy at the unveiling.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines. We are ending the war on saturated fats.
AUBREY: Now, ending the war on saturated fat may be a bit strong as the guidelines do still include a long-held recommendation to limit saturated fat to 10% of your daily calories.
MARTIN: What's been the reaction from public health and nutrition experts?
AUBREY: Well, there's some criticism. Keep in mind that both the American Heart Association and the Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition point to the science, showing that excessive saturated fat from sources like red meat is linked to heart disease. I spoke to Christopher Gardner of Stanford University. He's a nutrition expert. He was on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a group that spent two years reviewing all the evidence, including the effects of saturated fat on health.
CHRISTOPHER GARDNER: I'm very disappointed in the new pyramid that features red meat and saturated fat sources at the very top, as if that's something to prioritize. It does go against decades and decades of evidence and research.
AUBREY: Now, he's in favor of increasing plant-based sources of protein, such as beans, rather than just emphasizing animal protein.
MARTIN: Now, you mentioned, you know, earlier that the guidance on how much saturated fat we should eat is actually staying the same. So are there real changes here or is it just being presented differently in this chart?
AUBREY: Yeah. Well, there are definitely some real changes. The guidelines call for Americans to cut way back on refined carbohydrates and highly processed foods, including sugary drinks and snacks. Now, this is easier said than done. These foods make up, you know, about 70% of the food supply, everything from chips and soda to grab-and-go prepared foods. I spoke to Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian. He's a cardiologist who directs the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. He applauds this call for a, quote, "dramatic reduction in highly processed foods."
DARIUSH MOZAFFARIAN: To have the U.S. government for the first time recommend that a wide class of foods be eaten less because of their processing is a big deal, and I think, a very positive move for public health.
AUBREY: So I'd say Secretary Kennedy has found some common ground with lots of public health experts on this issue. You know, there's this widespread consensus that the standard American diet and poor eating habits are a leading cause of chronic disease.
MARTIN: Will these dietary guidelines make a difference? Does anybody really pay attention to them?
AUBREY: You know, new guidelines alone can't change people's habits, of course, but they are highly influential. They dictate what can be served in school meals, on military bases, and determine what's allowed in federal nutrition programs. The worry is that people will see meat at the top of the pyramid and ignore the call to also eat more fruits and vegetables and cut back on sugar and highly refined and processed foods, aka junk food.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Allison Aubrey. Allison, thank you.
AUBREY: Thank you, Michel.
(SOUNDBITE OF APHEX TWIN'S "IZ-US") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
