What to Eat Now: US Dietary Guidelines 2025 decoded. And how the way the world eats will change everything, including you.

Food advice that finally meets real life and your future.

We break down the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines for 2025 and translate them into clear, doable steps you can apply today, whether you’re an athlete, a busy parent, or just trying to feel better and think sharper. From higher protein targets to gut-friendly eating, we explore what matters, what to skip, and how to turn policy into a plate you can repeat.

We start with personalization, calories, and hydration. Then we dig into the biggest shift: prioritizing protein at every meal, with a target of 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg and a focus on quality sources. We highlight microbiome health with vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, and fermented foods, and explain why ultra-processed foods create the wrong gut signals over time.

You’ll hear practical guidance on fruits and vegetables, healthy fats from fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados, and a realistic approach to whole grains that respects calorie budgets. We get candid about added sugars, plus alcohol moderation and sodium basics, including when active people should add salt for hydration. Finally, we share how to implement all of this to plan macros without overthinking and with some smart tools like your favotire chat bot. 

If this helped you rethink your plate, follow the show, leave a quick review, and share this episode with someone who wants more energy, better focus, and a simpler way to eat well.  

Your Free Nutrition Consultation

Link to US Dietary Guidelines

Transcript

Why U.S. Guidelines Matter Globally

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hi guys and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Shorina. I'm your host. I'm your partner in Change Personal and Collective Evolution, your executive health and high performance coach 360, and just someone with a lot, a lot of passion for doing our very best to unlock and use more of our human potential to create the most positive impact and live the most extraordinary lives. And today, guys, as promised, we are diving into new dietary guidelines for the US 2025. And the reason why we are doing this is because I always say that love it or hate it, US is a great marketer. So whatever you see happening in the US, it will spread to the world to the rest of the world sooner or later, and it will shape how a lot of things unfold in our world. And specifically, as we are talking about dietary guidelines and food and nutrition today, that's how supermarkets and how the food is sold and what is sold and what people end up eating. That's what's being shaped right now. And that's why I suggest we familiarize ourselves with the key aspects of this dietary guidelines. So also perhaps if you are into nutrition, into healthy eating, or you work in it and you have some decisions to make for the future, like what products you get more of in stock, or maybe what food brand to launch. This is a very useful information. And also all the details that we're gonna be going through today, they are available online. I got everything on realfood.government, but even if you Google uh US Dietary Guidelines 2025, that will come up. And also, I'm gonna link a couple of resources in the show notes if you want to check out the details on what we're gonna be talking about today. But also for you personally, this information is gonna help you to navigate this or sometimes overwhelming and confusing food world for better health, better fitness, better well-being, better energy, better everything. Because again, everything in you and in what you do and how you show up for the world, it is all shaped to a smaller or bigger degree by the foods you put on your plate, because you are down to the very cellular level or made from what you put on your plate, quite literally. Maybe you don't become blue because you eat blueberries, but every single cell ends up functioning in a certain way, including your mind and cognitive performance, because of the foods you put on your plate consistently. So I was actually again very happy with US dietary guidance because that's what I've been learning from some of the best voices in health, in nutrition, and in well-being and in fitness. Folks who work with athletes and are examples of great health and fitness and also scientific rigor that don't just blurt out things but actually do the research and are very careful about claiming certain things, if anything. Right? So, US dietary guidelines moved a lot closer. I would say it's almost as good as it can be when it comes to dietary guidelines, because those are guidelines for like a whole bunch of people, right? A whole population. And a lot of things in nutrition do need to be personalized to be the most effective. And speaking about personalization, in these documents on dietary guidelines, they do talk a lot about things like you know, the the guidelines start with eat the right amount for you. And they're talking about calories and how it is important to be mindful about calories, and also that the amount of calories you personally need and will work for your goals and well-being and health and fitness, they depend on things like age and sex and height and weight and level of your physical activity. So just because your friend, I don't know, lost weight or gut feed on a specific diet following a specific routine, or you read a book about it, and like thousands of people got value from it, it doesn't mat doesn't mean that that's exactly gonna work for you. So, yes, 2000 calories for our species for an average person might be a good guidance to shoot for, but what exactly you need to reach your goals at this stage of your life, that is gonna be again something for you to explore. And yes, there are many different tests available, like figuring out your metabolic rate, but also experimentation works as well. The second thing, after eating the right amount for you and speaking about calories, they talk about hydration as a key factor in overall health, so drinking your water still or sparkling, and also unsweetened beverages. Like just yesterday, I was speaking to a client of mine and he asked me, because we are working on hydration, well, should I just count water or can I count in things like different milks and soups and teas? And of course, that is all has a big water component. So if you're drinking liters of, I don't know, herbal tea, that is water with a little bit of herbal extract in it. So, yes, the more water-rich stuff you consume, the more you are hydrated, even if you don't specifically focus on drinking just water. So that's another key factor. Then they start after the calories and hydration. They talk about protein, prioritize protein foods at every meal. And I've been working with clients for more than a decade now, well, almost two decades now. And I can tell you that almost with every single client, unless they are already athletes and know quite a lot about nutrition, we have to work on dialing in protein. And protein is not just for your muscles, it's for your hormones, it's for your energy, it's for your cognitive performance, and because of different dietary guidelines, and because you don't really get good, we didn't get good guidelines before. And sometimes still doctors say like very little amount of protein is enough. But yes, enough not to die, but not to thrive, especially if you are interested in high performance, in great fitness, in longevity, in optimizing a lot of things, not just surviving. Then protein is something you need to pay attention to and you need to get it at every meal, along with some of your fruit and vegetables and some whole food carbohydrates like beans and whole grains and starches, like potatoes. But anyhow, so this the second thing they get into is prioritize protein foods at every meal, and they speak about high-quality, nutrient-dense protein. They talk about animal sources including eggs, poultry, seafood, red meat, a variety of plant-based sources like beans, peas, legumes. Here they also give you a specific guideline: 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight that has been increased dramatically. I think it's twice as much from what it was previously recommended. And all of that, you know, this report actually has a really good scientific science backing. And that is also what I've been hearing long before from researchers in the field, nutrition scientists, and then also different sports scientists, uh scientists of human performance and and longevity. So protein is important, and you probably need a lot more, and also just like this dietary guidance say the quality of it really matters. Again, I was speaking to a client of mine yesterday, and he was saying, Well, our family meals tend to be more on the vegetarian side, and we get our protein from things like beans and lentils. And I told him, Yes, that is good, and that is a source of protein, but in order to get all the protein you need, you need to eat like 10 cups of, let's say, lentils, cooked lentils, and he then realized that yeah, he's probably getting very little for what he's trying to do. Also, in the same report, they talk about consuming high-quality dairy products. Dairy, you know, these days got so much negative publicity for really no good reason. It's an amazing source of nutrients, not just proteins, but also healthy fats and vitamins and minerals. And if you don't have any problems with dairy digestion, any intolerances or some I don't know, inflammatory reactions, then yes, please do consume dairy products. And the report emphasizes no added sugars. There is some natural sugar in dairy products, but no added sugars, and also they talk about gut health. That your gut contains trillions of bacteria and microorganisms, and it supports your health and well-being. And in order to cultivate a healthy microbiome, you do need to eat your vegetables and fruit, other things like beans and whole grains with fiber, and then also fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi and kefir and miso, and they also emphasize that processed foods disrupt that gut balance. So it, you know, if you eat processed foods, they don't just get in and go out, they actually do create gut microbiome imbalance because everything that goes into your gut has to be processed by different bacteria. And if you eat processed foods, you cultivate a different kind of bacteria that eats that processed foods and then create certain molecules that affect your health, not in a positive way. And then they fight with the good bacteria, and you have these like weird gut reactions and then also some negative health outcomes. Then, after the protein and dairy and gut microbiome, they get into eating fruit and vegetables, emphasizing whole fruit and vegetables, and saying that fruit or vegetable juice, however you know natural it is, should be diluted and consumed in very limited amounts. Then also they say that canned dried frozen vegetables and fruits with no added sugars can also be great options. The recommended amounts of vegetables and fruit are together, are about five servings, which in grams is about what I've been recommending to my clients all along: about 750-800 grams or so, distributed between meals. Then they talk about incorporating healthy fats from animal products like meats, poultry, eggs, seafood, but then also plant-based nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, and they talk about deprioritizing anything fried, like junk food, fried foods. So that is essential, and they advertise or they advise to limit saturated fat to about 10%, and also they specify that it is yet to be discovered or researched what exact types of dietary fats are best to support long-term health. So that is on fats, eat your fats, but you know, with everything in this dietary guidelines, what you want to understand is that calories matter. So, whatever amount of fruit and vegetables and proteins and fats and whole grains you're gonna consume, you're gonna make sure that you're still calorie mindful. Overeating on anything isn't great for you. And they specify it in almost every single section of this dietary report. And then we have focus on whole grains, fiber-rich whole grains, reducing consumption of refined bread, like white bread or ready-to-eat packaged breakfast options like processed cereals, flour tortillas, and different crackers. And they also, I think, got a lot more mindful about the servings. So two to four servings, which is about one to two cups of whole grains per day. But then again, it's all has to be balanced with the calorie equation, right? So if you decide to consume more fats and get more energy from that, then probably you need to reduce the amount of uh carbohydrates, even whole foods. So your calorie equation works as well. And then we have a section on highly processed foods, added sugars, and defined carbohydrates, which need to be limited, deprioritized, and the less the the less the better for you. No amount of added sugars is recommended or needed in your diet, and per meal, they recommend no more than 10 grams of added sugars, which is two teaspoons. But obviously, it's very hard to measure. So I always recommend to my clients eat your sugars in foods, in your fruits, in your starches, in something that contains it naturally, not in added sugars in different beverages and foods. And they add those sugars even to things like dried meats and canned vegetables. So please make sure that you don't unnecessarily adding those sugars to your diet, which the less, the better. Because, and also they talk about this tricky part that sugar is not just sugar, the word, but also added sugars might appear under different names, like high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup, corn syrup, rice syrup, fructose, glucose, dextrose, sucrose, cane sugar, all of that is also in the report. They give really good information about you know the confusion that we have with this sugar thing. That sugars, there are many different ones that you should be avoiding. But again, for my clients to simplify things, I always advise just eat feeds with the ingredients that you can understand, or whole foods that do not need ingredients, and you'll save you a lot of trouble. And then there is a section on limiting alcoholic beverages, and it says consume less alcohol for better overall health. And then they talk about people who should avoid alcohol entirely. Also, there is a small part of on sodium consumption or salt, which is 2.3 gram, what is recommended. That is about, I think, a like good teaspoon, good big teaspoon. And they also emphasize that if you sweat a lot and if you're highly active, then you need to increase that salt consumption, which is needed for optimal hydration. And then there is there are parts on vegan, vegetarians, pregnant women, kids, etc. So, really good report, actually. And the last part I wanted to cover is more on the practical side. So the second document that they have on this website goes deeper into serving sizes, like they always say, you know, two to four servings or for protein or dairy or fruit and vegetables. So they have this additional table where they specify like what is a serving, and they go by calories. So if you have, let's say, 2000 calories, then you would consume that amount of servings per day, let's say, of protein, protein foods, or dairy, or vegetables, or fruits, and whole grains. So that is also a really good table. Not ideal, but again, with guidelines that are directed towards everyone, it's quite hard to get it ideally fitted for everyone out there. But I think it's the best one that we've gotten so far. I'm not that familiar with dietary guidelines in some of the northern countries and uh Southeast Asia, especially Japan, they seem to be a lot more mindful and a lot more educated and future-oriented uh in a good way about nutrition and food and health. But those countries don't tend to be the best marketers, and so again, what is good about this guidance is because they are coming from the US, and because of that, many brands will have to repackage, reconfigure, reconstitute their offerings, our supermarkets are gonna change, our restaurants are gonna change, and it's gonna spread through the whole world. That's why it's important. And now a little bit on the implementation side, guys. Having worked in nutrition coaching for quite a long time with normal people and with athletes and with business owners and with moms and with dads, like all kinds of different budgets, I can tell you that the best way to figure out how to practice that is to yes spend some time going through okay, like how many grams, or you can even ChatGPT right now. You can upload those dietary guidelines into ChatGPT and tell ChatGPT your food options, the foods that you like eating, a little bit more information about you, and ask ChatGPT to come up with meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner based on your preferences and based on this new dietary guidelines. So that is that will simplify a lot of things a lot for you. But then, as I also suggest to all of my clients, especially at the beginning, until you really figure out how to eat a balanced diet to according to good guidance, create those simple meals that you can repeat over and over and over again for yourself and for your family that feeds in your preferences, in your calorie budget, that does go along or aligns with this new dietary guidance that again are really good and scientifically uh well founded. So design those few meals and start getting them on repeat, and then in every meal, you then can start exploring uh can I substitute this ingredient for that or this. Ingredient for that? Or what if I'm making a mixed meal? How can I combine all these different ingredients? And again, you can chat now with artificial intelligence, which is hugely helpful. For myself, I did the same thing. I don't necessarily eat the most balanced meals every meal, but over the course of my day, I balanced it out, and now I just know hey, this is how my breakfast looks like, this is how my lunch looks like, this is how my dinner looks like. And I try to substitute foods for similar ones when I'm out, and I know that it works for me, and I know that it works for my macros and micros and calories, and then I didn't have to think much about it whether I'm at home and in charge of my food or I'm out in a restaurant or a cafe. And for my clients, when we work together, what I usually do with them is meal by meal we figure out how to align all of their numbers and their preferences and availability of different foods and their life situation, like whether they cook or somebody else in their family cooks, and whether they have family meals or they have their own meals, or maybe they eat out at different locations at work or just outside of their controlled food environment. And meal by meal we learn how to eat a balanced diet, and that is the skill they build. So for life, they have this nutrition part covered. And if you'd like a simple nutrition consultation asking all of your questions about this dietary guidelines or how to put something similar or your own nutrition practical into practice, there is a link, there's gonna be a link in the show notes for a free trial consultation where you can ask me how to put all of this in practice and make it doable and simple in your life to align the guidelines to align your health goals and your life situation. So check it out again. Two links are gonna be in the show notes. The one for this dietary guidelines to check out, and then the second one is for this sample nutrition consultation with me, as I am a certified nutrition and health and also recovery and a lot of other things, coach. So check this out. I've been teaching nutrition to professional athletes, to physique athletes, to entrepreneurs, business owners, and regular folks. So check it out. Nutrition is something that you are built off: your performance, your well-being, your health, your energy, your mood. So it's something really worth exploring and dialing in and mastering for life, not just your life, but also for lives of those who are who depend on you, like your family or team that you lead. Thank you guys for tuning in. I thank you for listening. I appreciate your time and attention here. Hope it was useful. If it was, please read a review and share it with at least one other person who might truly benefit from this topic. And until next time, keep growing and keep repeating well.