Trump Admin (Literally) Turns the Food Pyramid on Its Head: ‘We Have Ended an Era of Medical Dogma’

The Trump administration has flipped the food pyramid to emphasize protein.

The pyramid replaces plate-shaped guidelines that were in vogue since about 2011 and flips the pyramid from a wide base at the bottom to one at the top, according to USA Today.

“The new guidelines recognize that whole, nutrient-dense food is the most effective path to better health and lower health care costs,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, according to Fox News. “Protein and healthy fats are essential, and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines. We are ending the war on saturated fats.”

As USA Today noted, Kennedy, who called the new guidelines “the most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in history,” summed up the changes this way: “Eat real food.”

USDA issues New Food Pyramid

– Meat is king
– Whole milk, not skim milk
– Eggs are off the naughty list
– Sugary fruits demoted
– Lucky Charms no longer rank higher than steak

The world is healing. pic.twitter.com/itFpJrvpLt

— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) January 7, 2026

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said the changes end recommendations that had few facts to back them up.

“We have ended an era of medical dogma where, in the past, the only thing that has been recommended is to avoid fat,” he said in a video posted to X.

He said fat “was the bogeyman for no good scientific reason, except that it was the dogma passed on generation to generation,” he said.

“We are no longer recommending a high cereal, bread, grain, pasta food pyramid base,” he said, adding, “We are moving on to a scientific-based approach to say we need more protein.”

.@DrMakaryFDA on the new Food Pyramid: “We are no longer recommending a high cereal, bread, grain, pasta Food Pyramid base… We are moving on to a scientific-based approach to say we need more protein.” pic.twitter.com/nodO50OZfY

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 8, 2026

“There’s not enough protein in the diet of a vast majority of kids. We’ve increased the protein guideline by 50 to 100 percent,” he said, noting that children should not be fed low-fat foods.

An HHS news release summarized the major changes.

“While previous Dietary Guidelines have demonized protein in favor of carbohydrates, these guidelines reflect gold standard science by prioritizing high-quality, nutrient-dense protein foods in every meal. This includes a variety of animal sources, including eggs, poultry, seafood, and red meat, in addition to plant-sourced protein foods such as beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy,” the release said.

The release noted that in two firsts, the guidelines attack highly processed food and sugar.

“For the first time, the Dietary Guidelines call out the dangers of certain highly processed foods – a common-sense and vital public health point. The guidance calls to ‘avoid highly processed packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that are salty or sweet’ and ‘avoid sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda, fruit drinks, and energy drinks,’” the release said.

“While previous Dietary Guidelines did not take a hard line against added sugar (especially for children), this guidance says, ‘no amount of added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners is recommended or considered part of a healthy or nutritious diet’ and calls on parents to completely avoid added sugar for children aged four and under,” the release noted.

The release said the guidance said Americans should receive “the bulk of fat from whole food sources, such as meats, poultry, eggs, omega 3–rich seafood, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, olives, and avocados. When cooking with or adding fats to meals, the guidelines call for using the most nutrient-dense natural options with essential fatty acids, such as olive oil.”

The guidance says Americans should “prioritize fiber-rich whole grains” and “significantly reduce the consumption of highly processed, refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options, flour tortillas, and crackers,” the release said.

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