New dietary recommendations for Americans could change how you eat at home and at school.
U.S. officials announced the updated guidelines this past winter. They call for eating up to twice as much protein as the previous recommendations—including red meat and full-fat dairy products. They also encourage people to limit sugar and strongly emphasize avoiding highly processed foods, like prepackaged cookies and chips.
The recommendations help decide what’s served in public institutions like schools and hospitals. As part of the changes, school districts that receive federal funding for student meals may start serving whole milk, something they had been barred from doing in recent years.
The guidelines are in the shape of an upside-down pyramid (below). Foods that people are encouraged to eat the most of are in the widest part. Foods they should eat in moderation are in the narrowest part.
The concept of a food pyramid was introduced in the United States in the 1990s. Back then, grains made up the largest section, while fats and oils made up the smallest section.
Some health experts say parts of the new recommendations are alarming. For example, Americans had long been advised to limit red meat because it contains saturated fats. Those are believed to increase the risk of heart disease. But U.S. officials say the updates will improve people’s health because they emphasize eating whole foods rather than highly processed ones.
Dig into this diagram to learn what the new guidelines say you should eat in a day.
—Brooke Ross