New Scientific Report on Scientific Foundation for The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030.

Published: January 22, 2026

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Title: Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030
Society: United States Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Publish Date: January 7, 2026
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Just published January 7th, 2026, the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s newest scientific report on Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030.

In today’s rapid update video, we’ll just be going over key recommendations. For the full scientific report, make sure to check it out on guidelinecentral.com

Let’s get started.

Starting with the section on Highly Processed Foods,

Avoid highly processed packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that are salty or sweet, such as chips, cookies, and candy that have added sugars and sodium. Instead, prioritize nutrient-dense foods and home-prepared meals. When dining out, choose nutrient-dense options.

On to the section, Added Sugars

Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.
Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages, such as sodas, fruit drinks, and energy drinks.
While no amount of added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners is recommended or considered part of a healthy or nutritious diet, one meal should contain no more than 10 grams of added sugars.
To help identify sources of added sugars, look for ingredients that include the word “sugar” or “syrup” or end in “-ose.”
Added sugars may appear on ingredient labels under many different names.
Some foods and drinks have naturally occurring sugars. The sugars in these foods are not considered added sugars.
When selecting snack foods, added sugar limits should follow FDA “Healthy” claim limits.

Moving on to the section on Whole Grains and Refined Carbohydrates,

Prioritize fiber-rich whole grains.
Significantly reduce the consumption of highly processed, refined carbohydrates.
Whole grains serving goals: 2–4 servings per day, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements.
Individuals with certain chronic diseases may experience improved health outcomes when following a lower carbohydrate diet. Work with your health care professional to identify and adopt a diet that is appropriate for you and your health condition.

Next, the section on Vegetables and Fruits,

Eat a variety of colorful, nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits.
Eat whole vegetables and fruits in their original form.
Frozen, dried, or canned vegetables or fruits with no or very limited added sugars can also be good options.
100% fruit or vegetable juice should be consumed in limited portions or diluted with water.
Vegetables and fruits serving goals for a 2,000-calorie dietary pattern, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements:
- Vegetables: 3 servings per day
- Fruits: 2 servings per day

Then for the section on Healthy Fats,

Healthy fats are plentiful in many whole foods, such as meats, poultry, eggs, omega-3–rich seafood, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, olives, and avocados.
When cooking with or adding fats to meals, prioritize oils with essential fatty acids, such as olive oil. Other options can include butter or beef tallow.
In general, saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10% of total daily calories. Significantly limiting highly processed foods will help meet this goal. More high-quality research is needed to determine which types of dietary fats best support long-term health.

For the section on Dairy,

When consuming dairy, include full-fat dairy with no added sugars. Dairy is an excellent source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Dairy serving goals: 3 servings per day as part of a 2,000-calorie dietary pattern, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements.

Now the section on Protein,

Prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein foods as part of a healthy dietary pattern.
Consume a variety of protein foods from animal sources, including eggs, poultry, seafood, and red meat, as well as a variety of plant-sourced protein foods, including beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy.
Swap deep-fried cooking methods with baked, broiled, roasted, stir-fried, or grilled cooking methods.
Consume meat with no or limited added sugars, refined carbohydrates or starches, or chemical additives.
Protein serving goals: 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements.

And last the recommendations from the section on Sodium,

Sodium and electrolytes are essential for hydration. The general population, ages 14 and above, should consume less than 2,300 mg per day of sodium. Highly active individuals may benefit from increased sodium intake to offset sweat losses.
For children, the recommendations vary by age:
- Ages 1–3: less than 1,200 mg per day
- Ages 4–8: less than 1,500 mg per day
- Ages 9–13: less than 1,800 mg per day
Highly processed foods that are high in sodium should be avoided.

And there you have it. Make sure to check out the full scientific report from the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other related clinical decision support tools at guidelinecentral.com.