A Concise Summary of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030

 The message is simple.  Eat real, whole foods and not food or drink primarily made from food extracts, i.e. part of whole food such as refined sugars, grains starches or oils; or synthetic industrially manufactured chemical additives. 

Consume real food that nourishes the body; real food that restores health; real food that fuels energy and encourages movement and exercise.  Real food that builds strength.  Don't just "fill your bellies" with chemicals, fillers, or concentrated parts of food.  Eat the whole food that the parts come from.  America's future depends on what we grow, what we serve and what we choose to eat.

This final article in this series is a concise summary of the full Dietary Guidelines.  We hope it will serve as a handy reference for you.  Remember you may read the full Guidelines at: https://realfood.gov/#resources

Eat the Right Amount for YOU: Pay attention to portion sizes particularly for higher calorie items.  Check the calories that you need for your age, sex, height, weight and level of physical activity.  Choose water and unsweetened beverages over high calories chemical or sugar laden alternatives.

Prioritize Protein at Every Meal:  Prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein foods.  Consume a variety of protein foods from animal sources, including eggs, poultry, seafood, and red meat.  Include a variety of plant-sourced proteins including beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy.  Swap deep-fried cooking for baked, broiled, roasted stir-fried, or grilled cooking.  Consume meat with no added sugars, refined carbohydrates, or starches, or chemical additives.  Flavor you meat with salt, spices and herbs if desired.  Consume 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein for kilogram of body weight (divide pounds by 2.205 to get kilograms).  Adjust for your own needs.

Consume Dairy:  For dairy, include full-fat dairy with no added sugars.  Dairy serving goals should be be three servings daily as part of a 2000 calorie dietary pattern.  Adjust such dietary goals according to your dietary needs.

Gut Health:  A healthy diet includes vegetables, fruits, high fiber foods, and fermented foods to support a diverse microbiome.

Eat Vegetables and Fruits Throughout the Day:  Eat a variety of colorful, nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits.  Eat whole vegetables in their original form, washing thoroughly prior to eating or cooking.  Frozen, dried, or canned vegetables or fruits with no, or very limited, added sugars can be a good option.  100% fruit or vegetable juice should be consumed in limited portions or diluted with water.  For the 2000 calorie per day diet shoot for 3 servings of vegetables les and 2 servings of fruit per day.

Incorporate Healthy Fats: Healthy fats are plentiful in many whole foods such as meats, poultry, eggs, omega-3-rich seafood, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, olives, and avocados.  When cooking with fats, prioritize oils with essential fatty acids, such as olive oil.  Other options can include butter or beef tallow.  Try to limit saturated fat consumption to 10% of you total daily calories (e.g. 200 calories on a 2000 calorie/day diet).

Focus on Whole Grains: Prioritize fiber-rich whole grains–those that retain all three original, nutrient-rich parts of the kernel, i.e. the fiber filled bran, the nutrient-dense germ, and the starchy endosperm.  [A poor analogy that I find useful bear in mind the egg.  The bran is analogous to the egg shell, the egg white to the germ, and the yolk to the endosperm. Whole grain products use the "whole egg" so to speak].  Significantly reduce the consumption of highly processed , refined carbohydrates such as white bread, or ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options, flour tortillas and crackers.  Make food that uses the whole grain and not just one or two-thirds of it. Aim for two to four servings per day, adjusting as needed for your caloric requirements.

Limit Highly Processed Foods:  Avoid highly processed foods.  Avoid packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that are salty or sweet that have added sugars or salt.  In other words, remember that highly processed snack food IS food that counts towards your caloric diet, but offer very little in the way of nutrition for your body. Choose nutrient dense food options instead.  Limit food and beverages that have an abundance of artificial flavors, dyes, preservatives and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.  In other words, limit you consumption of sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks.  Try to limit any one meal to no more than 10 grams of added sugars.  These ingredients will include the words sugar or syrup or end in the word -ose.  Foods and drinks, such as fruits and plain milk, have naturally occurring sugars and are NOT considered added sugars.

Limit Alcoholic Beverages: Generally, consume less alcohol for better overall health.  Alcohol is ethanol, a psychoactive drug and central nervous system depressant produced via the fermentation of sugars by yeast.  It is the intoxicating ingredient in beer, wine, and spirits, acting to slow brain activity and reduce inhibitions.  Its consumption, especially in high amounts or consistent duration, increases the risk of chronic diseases and addiction.

Reduce Sodium: Sodium and other electrolytes (minerals) are essential for hydration.  Aim to consume less than 2300 mg per day of sodium.  Avoiding highly processed foods high in sodium should be avoided.

There are other specific recommendations for specific age groups and special populations that you may read about in the guidelines.

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