Americans debut the new dietary pyramid of the Trump era. Fresh out of a think tank of the Department of Health and Human Services led by Robert Kennedy Jr. A compendium of nutritional guidelines aligned with the MAHA movement (Make America Healthy Again) that seeks to save Americans from their current nefarious eating pattern based on hamburgers, hot dogs and whatever can be thawed and eaten without cooking.
This new food pyramid inverts the traditional order: prioritizing proteins and high-quality fats — including red meat — and restricting cereals, which since the mid-20th century have been regarded as staples. The initial reaction of the medical community and dietitians-nutritionists to this inverted pyramid is a sincere round of applause, though with caveats. Because it endorses a dietary roadmap without ultraprocessed foods and based on fresh, simple foods. But it also appears as a tailored suit for American tastes.
And, of course, a boost to its agricultural and livestock sector.
Another way of eating to gain health
Food can be a guarantee of life or a burden to our health. There is a great deal of scientific evidence that the poor Western diet, replete with ultraprocessed foods and with very little presence of vegetables and greens, acts as a green light to develop a long list of cardiometabolic diseases.
To promote public health this new guide is presented, in the words of Secretary Kennedy, as «guidelines to return us to the basics. American households should prioritize fresh, nutrient-rich foods (proteins, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats and whole grains) and drastically reduce highly processed foods. This is how we will make the United States healthy again».
Eat real food
Bajo el slogan ‘eat real food’ (Eat Real Food) esta nueva hoja de ruta se basa en 9 puntos:
- Prioritize the proteins in each meal (1.2–1.6 g/kg/día)
- Consume whole dairy products without added sugars
- Eat vegetables and fruits throughout the day (3 servings of vegetables/2 servings of fruit)
- Incorporate healthy fats from meats, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, olives and avocados
- Yes to whole grains and drastic reduction of refined grains
- Limited consumption of highly processed foods, added sugars and artificial additives
- Choose water and sugar-free beverages to support hydration
- Limit alcohol consumption for better overall health
- Adjust portions to age, sex, weight and activity level
A victory for proteins
The new dietary approach “created under the brave leadership of President Trump” (literal words from the secretary Kennedy himself referring to the White House occupant, well known for his fondness for McDonald’s burgers), highlights the role assigned to proteins. Laura Salud, nutritionist and pharmacist and CEO of Salmo Labs, applauds this step and notes that “ketosis, which is basically a state in which not so many carbohydrates are used, is the ideal to prevent diseases and inflammation.”
She recalls that “the old nutritional pyramid precisely causes the opposite and generates diseases. And that is why we have such a metabolically ill society, with diabetes, obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome… In the new one, finally, carbohydrates are placed where they should be, which is at the bottom peak. They only need to be consumed occasionally and we can live perfectly without them.”
Where does glucose come from then? “The body is capable of synthesizing it from proteins and fats.” From there its position in this new pyramid».
Farewell, ultraprocessed foods, goodbye
Dr. Beatriz Beltrán, specialist in internal medicine, aesthetic medicine and nutrition, and founder of the Barcelona clinic that bears her name, considers that the most positive aspect is that it puts the focus on real food and reduces the prominence of ultraprocessed foods. «Undoubtedly, a point clearly aligned with current scientific evidence».
This step forward against the advance of ultraprocessed foods is something also advocated by Maira Bes-Rastrollo, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra, researcher at the Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA) and at CIBEROBN.
All proteins in the same bag
Beltrán celebrates the strengthening of the importance of adequate protein intake, but with caveats. “Not all proteins should be interpreted as healthy without limits. Red meat should not be considered a daily protein, but occasional and combined with other sources (fish, poultry, eggs and plant proteins).”
She highlights her disagreement with the idea that this increase in proteins “is done at the expense of reducing vegetables and legumes, when these foods are an essential source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds that modulate inflammation and sustain metabolic health,” she explains.
Fats in the crosshairs
The MAHA movement’s rhetoric places all fats of the ‘real food’ on the same footing: meats, butter, nuts, whole milk, olives and avocados. This premise has roused controversy in the Mediterranean culture where olive oil (an unsaturated fat) occupies a much healthier heart-protective position than the rest of fats, especially saturated fats.
«Although certain fermented dairy products are associated with a better lipid profile and lower cardiovascular risk, not all fats are equivalent. From a clinical standpoint it remains a priority to favor unsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts) over butter or other fats rich in saturated fats, to protect LDL and cardiovascular health», clarifies Dr. Beltrán.
No country for legumes
Chickpeas, lentils, soy… are the real losers of this new pyramid of Trump Administration foods. In this reorganization of the nutrition imaginary made in USA there is a symbolic absence: legumes, a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet and a food historically associated with longevity, accessibility and home cooking, are missing. In the pyramid there is indeed an icon of peanuts, a can of beans and peas, but the discourse is diffuse.
«Legumes reduce cardiovascular risk and associated mortality; they are rich in fiber, increase satiety and allow substituting part of animal protein without worsening the lipid profile. In addition, they are accessible and affordable, which makes them a fundamental tool for families and public policies, such as school meals». But they are not part of the basic culinary culture of the United States.
Attention to peanuts
On the other hand, peanut production carries enormous weight in the American agricultural sector. And yes, they are legumes and not nuts. The nutritionists’ view is that the problem is nutrition: this food is often consumed under a mountain of salt, fried or bathed in honey or chocolate. In other words, a textbook ultraprocessed item. “It has a heart-healthy profile, but it should be consumed in its natural, unprocessed form, since very salted or ultraprocessed versions can create confusion,” explains Beltrán.
In Spain, its consumption is not as common, “so it should be understood as one more option, in moderate amounts, and not as a substitute for the central role of traditional legumes,” she notes.
A United States pyramid… or an exportable cultural product?
Although this is a guide for the United States, one of the big questions is its capacity to transplant to other countries whose nutritional pattern — such as the Mediterranean — relies on legumes, whole grains and olive oil as the backbone.
“Can this pyramid really be exported to Spain? Dr. Beltrán believes so. “First, wellness culture and social media tend to viralize simple messages such as ‘more proteins’ and ‘less carbohydrates’. These messages draw partly from longevity diets and real evidence, but lose the nuances when moved into brief and visual formats. The second path is the rise of fashionable diets like paleo, keto or low-carb, which can indeed produce short-term weight loss, but are not suitable for everyone nor as a general population recommendation,” she concludes.
Healthy diet or MAGA pyramid?
In the average American citizen’s imagination, the ideal healthy plate is a steak of huge proportions, with fries or a salad. “And, of course, with a glass of milk as the main beverage during meals. The glass of water we propose in our diet as the reference beverage there is not the norm,” explains Iva Marques, a full professor of Nutrition and Bromatology at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport of the University of Zaragoza, and a patron and Honorary Fellow of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
True that water does appear in the extensive and literal explanation, but it is conspicuously absent in the simplified drawing that will reach millions of North Americans. And that nuance matters, because although we are facing a fresher and healthier menu, it is also very MAGA (Make America Great Again), the slogan of President Donald Trump. “The new pyramid has political nuances and conflicts of interest that are very marked. It seeks to promote foods produced in the United States, especially red meat and minimally processed meat, whether beef or pork. If you look, next to the ribeye there is a tray of ground meat.”
Something similar happens with cow’s milk, hence the prominence.
An over-simplified drawing that says a lot
A biblically large steak opens this new pyramid. It is the metaphor of eating more proteins, but it transmits much more. Especially in times of little reading and plenty of taking what a photo says as gospel. “At a glance, the average American will interpret it as saying you should eat steak with salad. Is that better than eating ultraprocessed foods? For me, yes. Is it the best recommendation? No, because it involves political manipulation and lacks sufficient backing,” she notes.
She points to fish as an example, which appear only as a salmon fillet and cans. “There are no other fresh fish types.” Not fresh white fish (or frozen), nor the small blue fish so common in our fishmongers, such as sardines, mackerel or anchovies.
Nor do other white meats appear, such as lamb or rabbit. “My opinion is that they have used the scientific evidence in line with the interests of Trumpist politics. Relying on foods produced in the United States obviously improves the economy, but the backing with scientific evidence for all of their recommendations is relative and manipulated.”
