The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) were released this week with the tagline “eat real food,” and a stronger stance on limiting added sugars and highly processed foods. But it also brought the return of a pyramid-like graphic—this time flipped on its head, emphasizing foods like steak, full-fat milk, and butter. The visual prominence of such options might have you thinking saturated fat limits were tossed out with the MyPlate graphic, but the actual Guidelines retain the longstanding upper limit of 10% of total daily calories. […] Continue reading
Author: Brett O Otis
WHO releases updated guidelines on defining healthy diets
Harvard experts say most recommendations are well-supported, but guidance on total fat intake omits decades of evidence The World Health Organization (WHO) has released updated guidelines for defining healthy diets, with particular attention to carbohydrates, total fat, and specific types of fat such as saturated and trans fats. The guidelines are an addition to their […] Continue reading
COVID-19 and Obesity
This page will be updated as new information becomes available. Last update: 10.24.20 The novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has created a global pandemic with its syndrome, COVID-19. The number of people affected by COVID-19 continues to increase worldwide, and information about risk factors for severe COVID-19 and mortality is emerging almost […] Continue reading
New “guidelines” say continue red meat consumption habits, but recommendations contradict evidence
A controversial “dietary guidelines recommendation” published in Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that adults can continue to consume red meat and processed meat at current levels of intake. [1] This recommendation runs contradictory to the large body of evidence indicating higher consumption of red meat—especially processed red meat—is associated with higher risk of type 2 […] Continue reading
Emphasizing unsaturated fats on a ketogenic diet
The ketogenic or “keto” diet is a low-carbohydrate, fat-rich eating plan which can include sources of unsaturated fats, such as nuts, seeds, avocados, plant oils, and oily fish, but also foods high in saturated fat, such as fatty cuts of meat, processed meats, lard, and butter. In an interview with Business Insider, Dr. Walter Willett, […] Continue reading
Mediterranean and DASH Tie for Top Spot in Recent Ranking
Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases a ranking of popular diets—assessed by a panel of health experts based on seven categories, including weight loss, nutrition, safety, and ease of compliance. Topping 2018’s list of “best diets overall” is a tie between the Mediterranean and DASH Diets, which received high marks for being healthy […] Continue reading
Meta-analyses in nutrition research: sources of insight or confusion?
Nutrition is a complex field regularly cursed with provocative media headlines that often preface an oversimplified summary. If you’re a savvy consumer of nutrition news, you may have become wise to look past the catchy headlines to assess the quality of the study being reported—sizing-up the latest finding in context of existing evidence on the […] Continue reading
FDA takes major step forward targeting excess sodium in processed foods
The average American consumes 3,400 milligrams of sodium, roughly 1.5 teaspoons of salt, per day. However most of our dietary sodium comes not from the salt shaker at the dinner table, but from processed and prepared foods such as breads, crackers, cheese, and even products that don’t taste “salty,” like breakfast cereals. This week, the […] Continue reading
Eric Rimm discusses the importance of eating breakfast
The Healthy Eating Plate, now in Greek
The Healthy Eating Plate is now available in Greek, providing another example of how to create a Mediterranean diet. There isn’t one specific Mediterranean diet, as there are multiple countries that border the Mediterranean Sea — each with its own foods, eating patterns, and lifestyles — but there are some similarities that help define a Mediterranean eating […] Continue reading