After the Trump administration, the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released Wednesday. Dan Glickman, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said there were many positive recommendations made by government health officials.
Although he is skeptical of some of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on vaccines, Glickman views the new food guidelines as generally positive.
Some of the major changes include a greater emphasis on protein consumption while reducing intake of ultra-processed foods.
“Getting rid of … processed foods, the chips and crackers and that kind of thing is a good thing to do,” he said. “Protein is good. A lot of people need to eat more protein and less high-fat and high-sugared-up carbs.”
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However, Glickman noted some downsides. Previous guidelines provided stronger recommendations to limit alcohol. The new guidelines also suggest that butter, olive oil and beef tallow could be used as “healthy fats,” despite their high amounts of saturated fat.
“Most cardiologists will tell you that saturated fats aren’t necessarily good for you,” Glickman said. “I think the medical evidence is pretty clear that alcohol consumption is a problem—a serious medical problem for some people, not for everybody. And I think they should have kept in some reference to the negative side of drinking because I don’t want to see it opened up to people thinking that alcohol is good for you.”
While the Dietary Guidelines can be used by all Americans, they are particularly relied upon by policymakers to set menus for school lunches, Meals on Wheels and other government-supported programs.
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“These guidelines are meant to be guides,” he said. “They’re not regulations, they’re not mandates. People still have to use good judgment and common sense when they look at these.”
New guidelines are released every five years.
