Immunologist Attilio Speciani shared his thoughts on the United States' new food pyramid with us. His analysis of the guidelines and the influence of lobbies. Immunologist Attilio Speciani shared his thoughts on the United States' new food pyramid with us. His analysis of the guidelines and the influence of lobbies.
The United States has turned the food pyramid on its head with a graphic image that breaks with tradition and launches the new 2025-2030 dietary guidelines, reshaping the country's federal nutritional policy of recent decades: Americans are urged to "eat real food" and to "re-establish diet – not pharmaceuticals – as the foundation of health".
According to data released by the Department of Health, the United States is facing a national health emergency. Nearly 90 per cent of healthcare spending goes towards treating chronic diseases, largely linked to diet and lifestyle. More than 70 per cent of American adults are overweight or obese, and almost 1 in 3 adolescents has prediabetes.
"These guidelines bring us back to basics," said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.. "American families must prioritise whole, nutrient-dense foods – protein, dairy, vegetables, fruit, healthy fats and whole grains – and drastically reduce highly processed foods. This is how we make America healthy again."
From red and white meat to legumes, from dairy products to eggs, from fish to nuts, the main revolution of the new pyramid is the prioritisation of protein over carbohydrates at every meal, totalling 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This is the point that has sparked the most debate inside and outside the US, with the government accused of wanting to favour the meat and dairy lobby, at the expense of human and environmental health.
"If there is one premise to make about these new dietary guidelines, it is that food pyramids have historically always been the product of a political choice," immunologist and lecturer on the Nutrition Master's programme at the University of Pavia, Attilio Speciani, commented with us. "And so one must look with a degree of critical eye at both yesterday's models and today's."
"The objectively correct diet, grounded in scientific data and positive health outcomes, is the one developed in 2011 by Harvard Medical School," the expert continues. "It is expressed in the so-called Healthy Eating Plate, made up of one quarter carbohydrates, one quarter protein, and two quarters fruit and vegetables. It is a model that, unlike the food pyramid, does not think in terms of the week but of the individual meal, and that ensures balanced meals: this helps reduce inflammation and improves insulin resistance, factors that are linked to cardiovascular disease and cancer."
In the American food pyramid, Speciani views positively the encouragement to consume whole grains – complex, slow-release carbohydrates that reduce the risk of blood sugar spikes – and to rebalance an excess of carbohydrates with a higher protein intake. Also welcome is the call to eat five daily portions of fruit and vegetables and the rehabilitation of saturated and unsaturated fats in the right quantities and always in a balanced way, as was also highlighted by the 2017 PURE study published in The Lancet.
The new guidelines call for a reduction in ultra-processed foods, added sugars and artificial additives, especially in children's and adolescents' diets: "This is a positive aspect," Speciani comments, "but in practice, at present, the United States has no taxation or general disincentives on this type of product." The consumption of water and unsweetened beverages is encouraged, along with limiting alcohol intake.
No food is an enemy, the immunologist concludes, if consumed in a balanced way and as part of a well-rounded diet. The guidelines, however, are generic; what is fundamental is the personalisation of one's diet based on personal and family history, taking into account genetics, health status and lifestyle.