Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes shares her take on the 2025–2030 USDA Dietary Guidelines released in 2026, explaining how the USDA updates them every five years and how they affect downstream food policy. She says the new inverted food pyramid and “eat real food” messaging feel more like marketing than a true 180, though she appreciates that the guidelines are shortened to 10 pages.

From a sports dietetics lens, she critiques the low grain/carbohydrate guidance as inadequate for athletes, recommends past episodes on carbs, sugar, and during-training fuel, and notes athletes may need some refined carbs to avoid excessive fiber and GI issues. She likes the increased protein target (1.2–1.6 g/kg), the more permissive tone on whole fats despite a still-low saturated fat cap, and the stronger “limit alcohol” message, and discusses potential implications for SNAP, school lunches, and ultra-processed foods.

Episode Highlights:

01:22 WaveBye Sponsor Break
03:00 USDA Guidelines Overview
04:21 What USDA Does
06:08 Food Pyramid to MyPlate
08:30 Inverted Pyramid Marketing
12:57 Eat Real Food Message
15:23 10 Page Guidelines Shift
16:24 Carb Limits for Athletes
19:31 Whole Grains vs Refined Fuel
19:57 Fiber and GI Reality Check
22:29 RED-S Check In and Resources
23:18 RED-S Recovery Options
24:18 Why Community Support Matters
25:02 Protein Targets Updated
27:15 Whole Fats And Saturated Fat
31:41 Alcohol Guidance Shift
35:58 Policy Ripple Effects
37:52 SNAP And Food Quality
40:50 Biggest Takeaways
42:02 Blame On Individuals
44:27 Final Thanks And Resources

Resources and Links:

Dietary Guidelines For Americans
FANP Episode 103: Stop Cutting The Carbs!
FANP Episode 248: The Science of Sugar for Athlete Performance & Health: Clarifying Natural vs Artificial vs Added
FANP Episode 195: Fast Fueling Facts: During Training Sports Nutrition
For more information about the show, head to work with Lindsey on improving your nutrition, head to: http://www.lindseycortes.com/
Join REDS Recovery Membership: http://www.lindseycortes.com/reds
WaveBye Supplements – Menstrual cycle support code LindseyCortes for 15% off: http://wavebye.co
Previnex Supplements – Joint Health Plus, Muscle Health Plus, plant-based protein, probiotics, and more; code CORTES15 for 15% off: previnex.com
Female Athlete Nutrition Podcast Archive & Search Tool – Search by sport, condition, or topic: lindseycortes.com/podcast
Female Athlete Nutrition Community – YouTube, Instagram @‌femaleathletenutrition, and private Facebook group

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