A health policy analyst focused on federal nutrition reform said the Dietary Guidelines for Americans released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in December 2025 mark a reset in how the federal government approaches food and metabolic health.
“Big picture, think about the old food pyramid and flip it upside down,” Monique Yohanan, MD, MPH, a senior fellow for health policy at Independent Women, told the Health Policy Podcast. “If you feel full, you’re going to eat fewer calories. The focus of this is, ‘Let’s stop blaming people.’ The reality is the old dietary recommendations were a setup for people to eat more calories and to gain weight.”
She said the updated framework places emphasis on protein, healthy fats, and fiber rather than calorie restriction alone.
“Protein, healthy fats, and fiber — that’s the big picture,” Yohanan said. “A great meal has all three. A good meal has two of the three. OK has one of the three. Try to stay away from meals with none of the three. There is no one perfect diet. Eat real foods, focus on protein, focus on healthy fats, and focus on fiber and you’re going to be fine.”
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every five years and shape federal nutrition policy nationwide. The guidance influences school meal standards, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Women, Infants, and Children program requirements, military feeding programs, and other federally funded food initiatives. The guidelines are intended to provide science-based recommendations to promote health and prevent chronic disease and play a role in broader public health messaging.
The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services released updated guidelines on Jan. 7. The updated guidelines mark what officials have described as a significant reset of federal nutrition policy, encouraging Americans to prioritize high-quality protein at every meal, incorporate healthy fats and whole fruits and vegetables, and markedly reduce consumption of highly processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates. The 2025–2030 edition also reintroduces an inverted food pyramid graphic that places protein, dairy, healthy fats, and produce at the top while emphasizing whole grains at a smaller proportion of the diet, reflecting a sharper focus on whole foods and reduced emphasis on ultra-processed products.
Yohanan criticized elements of prior federal guidance, including restrictions on whole milk in schools, arguing that low-fat policies may have contributed to unintended outcomes.
“Taking whole milk and 2% milk out of public schools, I think was a huge mistake,” she said during the podcast discussion.
Yohanan is a senior fellow at Independent Women and has worked on federal health policy issues related to nutrition, food regulation, and metabolic health. She has written and spoken on dietary reform and chronic disease prevention and has participated in policy discussions surrounding federal nutrition guidance and school meal standards.
Independent Women is a national nonprofit organization focused on public policy issues including health care, economic policy, and education. The organization advocates for market-based approaches across a range of policy areas and engages in research, media outreach, and policy analysis at the federal and state levels.
