The new food guide pyramid

The new food guide pyramid was announced at the end of 2025. To help us better understand the new dietary guidelines, Registered Dietician Michelle Schulz from Sarah Bush Lincoln provides insight and helpful information 

Transcript

Every five years, the USDA revises or updates nutrition guidelines. Over the years, those guidelines have been represented as a pyramid. And most recently as a plate. As of 2025, the pyramid shape is back. But it's leaving people confused as to what to eat and how much. We're lucky to be talking to Michelle Schultz from Sarah Bush Lincoln on this edition of Health Styles. Don't go away. We'll be right back after this short message.

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Dietary guidelines for Americans started in 1916 by the USDA. The first food guide pyramid was published in 1992 and then updated in 2005. In 2011, choose my plate. Replace the pyramid. This shape was intended to grab attention and serve as a reminder for healthy eating. Choose my Plate was updated in 2020 with the same information, a different color scheme, and the name shortened to just My Plate. At the close of 2025, the plate was out and the pyramid was back, but this time it's turned upside down. Between this and millions of people on social media sharing what they eat to stay healthy, many of us, myself included, are confused. To help us better understand the new dietary guidelines. Registered dietitian Michelle Schultz from Sarah Bush Lincoln is here. Welcome, Michelle. 

Hi, Lori. It's so good to be back. All right, well, let's start with why it changed in the first place. Well, to simply answer that question, every five years, we have updates made based on new information that comes out with the ever-evolving world of nutrition. So the dietary guidelines are reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. So we are we're at that five year mark, and hence we have a new pyramid along with some updated guidelines. All right. So tell us what is the new peer pyramid and what are the recommendations. Well, as you stated in the introduction, the pyramid has been re revised. Turning it upside down, which is funny to even hear myself say out loud because I recall the very first pyramid. Years and years ago when I started out, in my area of just nutrition curiosity. So this new, picture that we have, hopefully many who are listening have seen it, really focuses on protein, dairy, healthy fats and vegetables and fruits, with those options being listed at the top and with the flip. The idea is to emphasize those foods more often. And as we funnel down, that's where we start to see the addition of, other foods, specifically grains. Then being at that tip, which is now at the bottom, and I think wasn't the point is, they're trying to simplify it because we as Americans really can make nutrition complicated.

Absolutely. And when you like, you know, whenever you, boil it down, that that was the true intent. I think, however, some of the simplicity has been complicated. As you mentioned, at once again referring to your introduction, just with so many trying to give their viewpoint on what we should be eating. 

All right. So as a registered dietitian, what are your thoughts? We've done podcasts with you. And I have heard you say prioritize, protein and eat less processed real foods. So, what do you think of this new upside-down pyramid? 

The new pyramid, personally, for me as a dietician, doesn't change much of my way of teaching nutrition and advising individuals, on what to eat. Really going back to what I have continued to preach, truly is we need to be eating food. So yes, maintaining a strong focus, really emphasizing in our daily intake, wholesome foods coming from those core food groups that even with this new picture, are still included. Protein, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains. We can't possibly meet our daily needs with one single food group or one single item. We need a nice balance. 

So, are there things in there as a dietitian that you don't necessarily agree with?

I great question. What I see as such a challenge is when we look at the picture, our eyes might immediately go to those food items, those options that perhaps in the past we've been told not to eat. So, all of a sudden it's exciting, like, oh, I can have steak. Oh, I can use butter. Oh, I can have cheese. And while that perhaps is where our mind wants to go, within the pictures that are shown here, there are still tried and true recommendations and fact that we know to be true. We need to watch how much fat we eat. It's okay to have meat, but it needs to be lean options cooked healthfully. Fruits and vegetables must be present to supply key vitamins and minerals that we need for health. Watching portions, which again, we can't necessarily gauge from the picture itself, still needs to be a message that dietitians, including myself, get out for the consumer. 

You know, because in the top corner you see a juicy red steak with some fat. And next to that is cheese. And I had also heard that they're encouraging people to eat full fat dairy.

Yes, that is that is definitely a challenge with this new picture because picture alone is going to indicate higher fat options. However, when you go through and actually read the recommendations, the recommendation is to still keep saturated fat at no more than 10% of total calories. That message is not clear from my viewpoint. And looking at the picture alone.

Okay, so you have printed out the actual dietary guidelines. How many pages is it? 

Well, interestingly enough, it is I believe, and I will confirm it is 10 pages, which is a lower number than in years past. I can recall receiving truly a booklet that I didn't want to read, although I did. So I know the average American is not going to read it at all. So I do appreciate the effort that was made to, simplify the message in terms of written content. 

So where did you get that from? If people really want to dive in. And this is as I'm looking at, that, it's not written. It's written for the everyday person. It's make sense. Where did you get it from. So usda.gov.

Yes. The I do believe I, I just looked it up. USDA forgive and it was available there. The content in this ten page nine page I guess ten if you printed off the cover, which would be the actual pyramid picture itself. Very simple, clear cut and something that is offered in the written format that is not obtained by simply looking at the picture is the recommended amounts from each category that is being suggested for Americans to consider for health and well-being.

Michelle is I'm looking at the graphic, the pyramid. Whole grains are at the bottom. Do you think there's going to be any fallout from people seeing that at the bottom? And as the smallest category?

 It is a concern of mine as a dietician. Similar to as when the pyramid was flipped and fat was at the top. We saw a lot of, a lot of not only products with fat being removed, but individuals who really felt that fat free was the way to go to improve their health.

And consequently, that was not so with whole grains being at the bottom. My concern is that a food category that many struggle to include in their diet, for a variety of reasons, is now going to be completely forgotten and truly admitted, because it's going to appear that it's okay not to include it. Well, and we've kind of been on this trend lately of, you know, get your protein in and avoid carbs. So if you take this at face value, just look at that go, go. I should minimize my whole grains. Well with our whole grains, those are carbohydrates a lot of times. 

So we're we might be not helping ourselves from that standpoint. 

Yes. And when we actually use whole grain and take it for what it is, whole grain means all three components of the grain are intact.

That item that is made with whole grain is going to offer important B vitamins fiber. We already struggle as professionals, especially dietitians, to promote fiber intake for reasons, as you said, one category is very challenging getting individuals to consume. So we're trying to get fiber from our vegetables, fruit, beans. But now we see whole grain at the bottom. And again, our mindset might be, I'm not going to eat it because it's at the bottom.

So one of the reasons, when I did my research on this that they got rid of the pyramid, it was too confusing. That's why we got the my plate, because it's easy to visualize. Now, people, as you've said, the new pyramid, it is it's a little vague. It's a little confusing. So what do you what are your thoughts on still using the My Plate as a visual?

Because that's the beauty of it. It's like it's a plate. We eat you, we have plates, we don't have pyramids in our house. 

So what are your thoughts on continuing to use the My Plate in conjunction with the pyramid? 

I see it being a complementary tool. One that can, certainly can and should still be utilized for, what you just said, bringing the message into a clearer context. My, my opinion of the plate is that it gives a clear visual for anybody seeking more information on what to eat, to actually see. And we can think about how our plate might look in comparison to that picture that is highlighting my passion in promoting eating food. We see it very clearly stated protein, vegetables, fruit and whole grain. All right there. Many plate pictures will also then offer, dairy off to the side. Some will offer the fruit off to the side. So there's different variations. But nonetheless we're capturing those core food groups and simply put, if it doesn't, if the if the food quote unquote food does not fit in a category, then chances are it is an item that should not be consumed in large quantities or consumed regularly.

 When you look at the pyramid, there are pictures of all these foods. There are some things that are not in it, such as alcohol, soda, granulated sugar. I always think donuts, cookies, chips, crackers, nothing. Nothing is in a box. 

As you just said, we should not consume or consume in limited quantities, right? I don't want there to be a food that is felt to be an absolute. No, never. I can't eat this. While that might work for a short term time frame as far as helping improve health long term, which is what I'm most interested in supporting patients long term. We can't have over restrictive eating. It just is not sustainable. So if it doesn't, it doesn't fit in a food group. If it's not shown on the pyramid again, that that from my teaching, point is to, point out that that's an item that just shouldn't be consumed in large amounts or regularly. 

So based on these new guidelines, does this work for everybody? Every person, every health condition? I think some of our cardiologists might have threw up some red flags when they see the meat in the high fat dairy, as they should. 

That is their area of expertise that their, their passion, what they've, you know, certainly spent their years studying and understanding. So. No. And in fact, on the, page nine of the actual printout, it says individuals with chronic disease. That's an actual title. It says following the dietary guidelines can help prevent the onset, but it says if you have a chronic disease, you need to speak with your health care professional. Chronic disease, meaning high blood pressure, high, you know, diabetes, hypertension, correct. Any. Yes. Any condition that might have a specific nutrition component where recommendations are not going to be for general purposes, which is what the pyramid is intended for. We have to be more specific. 

And then I think you have to take into consideration children, pregnant women, excellent point. People with other, illnesses, etc..

 Yes you do. And that's that. Again is not perhaps something that we get from just looking at the picture alone. But they actually break down in that written publication. Those very, milestones in life so that the recommendations are a little bit more specific to age, to, whether or not a woman might be pregnant or lactating and even older adults. Okay. So yeah, you can't just look at the picture and go, that's what I'm supposed to eat. You got you got to read into it and draw some conclusions for your own health 100%. I feel that in a in an effort and the goal being to offer a simple viewpoint, while the picture has certainly created a lot of conversation, perhaps rather than going after the pyramid itself, we would benefit from looking a little further and educating ourselves, using this as a motivator to look further in not only at what the recommendations are, but to reflect on what am I doing as an individual? How am I caring for myself through my daily food choices? 

Well, I suppose the one good thing to come out of this is it's got people talking about what they're eating and not eating and thinking about what we should eat. 

Very true. And that is one thing that I said, somewhat tongue in cheek, but, you know, I said a day before this was released, nobody was talking to the extent that they currently are about food. That's good. 

So as a dietitian, what are you telling people? What are you recommending to that average American that you know, just wants to eat healthier? What's your advice? 

My advice is to one really think about what you're currently putting in your body. It's easy to get caught up on recommendations, but I want I want individuals to know it has to be personal to them. And if one is not clear on what they're eating, it's really hard to know what changes might be of benefit and value. So number one is always encouraging more awareness to personal intake. And that can be difficult, that you have to be a little vulnerable to be honest with yourself. But gaining a better understanding of what is being done. So that my second recommendation, number two, is let's work to make small, better choices. Whether that better choice is cutting back on portion sizes, that better choice perhaps could be let's add in. Let's add in more vegetables. Let's add in some protein. Let's cut back on what I'm drinking. The snacks. It's going to be different for each and every person, but those are always my top two. And three, just trying to keep it simple because I want it to be lasting. I don't want anything to be attempted. That can't be. Not only sustained, but maintained. 

Could you speak a little bit to, as I said earlier in the introduction, everyone's talking about it. There's millions of people out there on social media saying, here's what I eat in a day. What are some things you recommend are a red flags when someone's watching a video and they're seeing this person saying, this is what I eat, and they look at me, what would be some red flags in their content that you would say, I might want to you might want to check that out a little further before you follow what they're eating.

That's a great question. I frequently say that gut check, that gut check of if that sounds too good to be true, chances are it is. Or if you are watching an influencer into yourself, you might be thinking, how in the world are they able to do all of that and still do x, y, z? To me, those are two perhaps, gauges that could be, used as, as a way of indicating whether or not it is, good information or selling information. I always try and take because I'm just as guilty as everybody. I can watch an influencer and be like, oh my gosh. But I always try and take it back to my, my reality, which is different than the person on the camera. And is this even something that would be plausible for me? So use your own kind of gut check. Ask yourself, is this something that I could actually do and maintain? And you may say yes, you may say no, but I could do this, you know, personalize it, bring it to a level that it would be a possibility for you to offer some additional guidance structure, maybe if possible, ideas, anything that might help motivate you or support the efforts that you're putting into your nutrition. 

Yeah, I think I agree with what you said. Is it sustainable and realistic? Are you someone that you've got three kids, you're busy? Are you going to have time to go shop and make these protein shakes with umpteen different fruits and vegetables in, and a juice that all day, every day? Probably not. Right? 

One that comes to mind immediately is for the longest time, I believe, that meal prepping had to be the perfect little containers with the perfectly measured ingredients, and it only could occur on a Sunday afternoon because that's what all the influencers are doing. And it it was. It took me a long time, even with my knowledge. It took me a long time to realize that, you know, meal planning doesn't have to look like that for it to be planning for me. And I could meal plan any day I choose. It doesn't have to be on Sunday, only. So that's an easy one that I can offer. There's a lot more out there, but, be very cautious. I'll throw this out there. Be very cautious of those that are selling a product. And again, making claims that, if you really thought about it, I would encourage you to ask yourself, how is that even possible? How can this do all of these things that I'm being told it can do?

So if you see something and you're curious about it, I think the best course of action is to talk to a health care professional, someone like you or your own health care provider.

Absolutely. Before. Before giving your hard earned money away. Please, if you have any questions, definitely take that to your trusted health care professional. 

All right. Michelle, thank you so much for your insight in the new 25 to 2030 Food Guide pyramid. Thank you. Lori. It's been a pleasure.

If you want more information on the pyramid from the USDA, just go to usda.gov and search Food Guide pyramid. Thank you for listening, and we hope Michelle's information helps you better navigate the foods and quantities you should be eating. Of course, you should always talk to your health care providers about specific health conditions and concerns. Be sure to follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Health Styles. And if you enjoyed our show, leave us a rating or a quick review. We'd love to hear from you!