The Trump administration has announced a new slate of dietary guidelines recommending that Americans eat more protein and less sugar than previously advised and avoid highly processed foods to achieve a healthy diet.
The guidelines are the latest product of the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, named for the social movement backing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He and other officials, including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, have implemented MAHA policy goals such as curbing childhood vaccines and restricting access to unhealthy foods for people receiving food stamps.
Kennedy and Rollins had pledged to simplify the guidelines and remove what they described as the undue influence of food companies over their recommendations.
The guidelines are published every five years by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.
The new guidelines implement some changes promised by Kennedy, including strongly dissuading the consumption of highly processed foods and added sugar. Kennedy and his MAHA supporters have pointed to high consumption of sugar and processed foods in the American diet as contributors to rising rates of chronic disease.
“Today, our government declares war on added sugar,” Kennedy said at a White House news briefing.
Recommendations for prioritizing fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as well as to cap saturated fat intake at 10% of daily calories, remain unchanged. Kennedy said adherence to the guidelines would lower the cost of healthcare.
