The “New” Dietary Guidelines are “Old”

A scientific commentary

Dr. Phil Maffetone

The newest Dietary Guidelines for Americans was just released and for the first time focuses on real food: whole, nutrient-dense items like meat, eggs, seafood, full fat dairy, healthy fats, fruits/vegetables, and whole grains. This last group is quite deceptive as described later. 

The Guidelines and accompanying food pyramid strongly advise against highly processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates—these are all called junk foods. They suggest that no amount of sugar is recommended for young children. But why not older children? Or adults as our brains and bodies are important too, especially for healthy aging. 

Refined carbs include sugar and are the primary cause of excess body fat and the overfat pandemic now affecting 80% of the world’s population—American bad food habits keep going global.

The Guidelines are not new except to politicians. Many scientists, clinicians, and others see this release as a great improvement compared to previous ones which began in 1980. Up to now they were heavily influenced by junk food lobbyists. Many of us knew this decades ago; I was making these recommendations in the 1970s, minus the junk food, with a very similar pyramid published in the 90s.

During these 45 years, Americans succumbed to dramatic levels of poor health: 90% of adults and 70% of children became overfat with untold numbers of related illness and disease (and significantly impacting Covid-19 infections). The rest of the world followed.

Many know that lobbying politicians is a big part of the game—just follow the money to see who is influencing who; it’s why tobacco companies still thrive. Similarly, junk food lobbying coordinated with deceptive marketing is much more successful at influencing consumer eating than public health campaigns. 

For millions of years all our ancestors ate a cuisine comprised of natural foods higher in fat, with moderate protein and very low carbohydrate, similar to the new Guidelines. This “old” diet allowed humans to develop superior brains and bodies.

But today, the world’s physical and mental health is seriously suffering from consuming the worst global cuisine in human history—junk food. As unhealthy diets are responsible for more deaths globally than any other risks, including tobacco, drugs, alcohol, and unsafe sex combined, refined carbohydrates, including sugar, are the primary ingredients of poor diets.

Virtually all areas of the world and every economic group have experienced an explosion of refined carbohydrate consumption that’s promoting excess body fat and reduced brain and body health.

There are two forms of refined carbohydrates. First is sugar, which is added to food and drink products, and used by consumers. Whether white or brown cane or beet sugar, molasses, honey, corn, malt, fruit concentrates, and those with other names, they can all quickly reduce health (artificial sweeteners too by altering gut microbiota).

The second group is virtually all grain flours like wheat, rye, corn, and others which are highly processed. These quickly convert to sugar during digestion. So pasta, bread, cereal and others are simply sugar too.

Unprocessed natural whole grains (such as wheat berries) are real foods with an endosperm, germ, bran and dozens of nutrients. But these are rare in today’s marketplace. Processing grains are cheaper and addicting, resulting in a highly degraded artificially engineered product that removes the B vitamins, iron, magnesium, vitamin E, and many other nutrients making these whole grains no longer whole grains. Like other processed foods, they don’t just harm our health, but displace natural, nutrient-rich foods—a double whammy. 

Moreover, adding refined grains or sugars to healthy meals essentially turns them into junk food.

Despite this, deceptive advertising tricks consumers by labeling junk food as “whole grain,” hiding the fact that most products also contain high amounts of refined carbs. These are often marketed as “healthy” despite contributing to over 30 health conditions. Excess body fat is the most serious as it promotes downstream chronic diseases, poor immunity, impaired muscles and joints, and brain dysfunction.

So-called “plant-based” items are especially hyped. They’re manufactured to mimic animal products but made from highly processed wheat, oat, soy and sugar. These ingredients are also common in foods for infants and toddlers, promoting nutritional imbalance and poor brain and body health. 

And beware: “Health food” stores stock hundreds of unhealthy foods. 

Environmentally, junk food production can adversely affect planetary health too. This occurs through biodiversity loss, freshwater overuse, land-system changes, chemical pollution and other problems harming our ecosystems.

Sadly, the world’s natural cuisines are becoming extinct. These are healthy traditional meals our great grandparents ate, unique to their specific regions and cultures like Indian, French, Italian, Asian, Mexican, and others. Most are now junk foods, disguised by spices and names that only mimic traditional items. (See my article, The Mediterranean Diet Myth .)

Consumer demand for junk food greatly outpaces that of healthy food thanks to marketing hype creating the false perception of lower cost, and increased availability and taste; despite price and nutrition being inversely related. But junk food is only perceived as cheap, with studies showing that healthy, home-prepared meals can be more cost-effective, tasty and healthy.

In case you missed it, read my article on sugar addiction—a key reason why many people can’t kick the junk food habit. 

Given the “new” Guidelines, I predict stronger aggressive responses by the junk food industry as manufacturers, distributors, restaurants and retail stores are already ramping-up misinformation campaigns to consumers, including children. You’ll see this on food labels, ads, menus, TV, print and social media; with the old mantra “everything in moderation”—but how many cigarettes a day is moderate? (See my article The Moderation Myth.) 

Now we hope governments will stop subsidizing junk food.

For more scientific information including references on these topics please see my newest research paper with Professor Paul Laursen: Refined carbohydrates and the overfat pandemic: implications for brain health and public health policy.

See my cartoon “Sugar is the New Tobacco”

**