New Dietary Guidelines Moving in the Right Direction – May 2025 Newsletter
Hello, this is Dr. Ellen. In this month’s ‘Real Common Sense’ newsletter, I want to go over some of the important points in the new report from the U.S. dietary guidelines advisory committee.(1) This is the five-year update, effective for 2025 through 2030. As the title of this newsletter implies, there have been some steps made in the right direction, although these changes are smaller steps than I and many others would have liked to have seen.
By the way, if you haven’t had a chance to see my previous newsletters, you can find them on my website, www.drellencutler.com under ‘Media’.
Some highlights from the new dietary guidelines
Overall, the report recommends eating vegetables, fruits, pulses, whole grains, and nuts (as well as fish and seafood, unsaturated fats, and low-fat or non-fat dairy). It discourages the intake of red or processed meats, saturated fats, salty or sugary snacks, and sugar-sweetened foods and beverages. No specific recommendations were made for ultra-processed foods or alcohol consumption.(2)
Perhaps the most notable changes made to this report compared with the report for 2020 through 2025 were the emphasis on increasing the intake of pulses (beans, peas, and lentils), moving them from the Vegetable Foods Group to the Protein Foods Group, and improving the order of the list of protein foods to have beans, peas, and lentils first; followed by nuts, seeds, and soy products; then seafood; and lastly meats, poultry, and eggs. This reordering emphasizes the health benefits of plant-based protein foods over those of animal origin, which are now listed last. Because pulses are no longer in the vegetable group, the report specifies the importance of increasing the number of other non-starchy vegetables in the diet in order to get at least adequate vegetable intake.(1)
Noting that sugar-sweetened beverages are the top contributor to added sugar intake, the report suggested that plain drinking water, possibly flavored with a small amount of 100% fruit juice, should be considered to be the primary beverage for people to consume in the future. Milk should be unsweetened non-fat or low-fat dairy milk or unsweetened fortified soy beverages. Beverages containing high amounts of calories from saturated fats and/or added sugars should be replaced or eliminated.(2,3)
What are some of the important continued recommendations?
The report does not make new recommendations for safe caffeine intake, continuing the 2020-2025 recommendation of 400 milligrams per day of caffeine as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in healthy adults. Sodium intake should not exceed 2300 mg per day (and even less for those under 14 years of age). The report recommends continuing the 2020-2025 guideline to limit foods higher in saturated fats, which are commonly found in higher amounts in high-fat meat, full-fat dairy products, butter, coconut oil, and palm oil, and limiting total saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of calories per day. However, the 2025-2030 report is the first to specifically recommend the replacement of saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats from plant-based sources.(1,2)
Some observations and my further recommendations
The inclusion of more plant-based foods over those from animal sources is a definite step toward improving people’s overall health and wellness. The primary example of this is the recommendation to increase the intake of beans, peas, and lentils, placing them in the protein food group and then prioritizing them to the number one position in that group and placing animal proteins in the last position. Similarly, this reinforces the notion of further decreasing saturated fats in the diet. Adoption of these and other recommendations in the report could potentially help decrease the incidence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer that are related to the saturated fat and other harmful ingredients in meat and other animal products.(3)
In my decades of clinical practice, I have had innumerable opportunities to use the Ellen Cutler Method (ECM) of energetic testing and clearing to determine the optimal diet for my patients. In almost every case, ECM testing has found that moving toward a whole food plant-based diet was best.(4) And almost all of those who adopted this recommended change, sometimes gradually, had improvement in their health. Compared to the recommendations in the new U.S. dietary guidelines advisory committee’s report, the most important addition in my recommendation is the phrase “whole food”. The dietary importance of plant fiber in whole plant foods cannot be overemphasized, particularly because of its importance to the gut microbiome and therefore to one’s overall health.
As mentioned above, the intake of ultra-processed foods was not directly addressed. For me, there is a disconnect between the words ‘ultra-processed’ and ‘foods’. Their dietary intake should at least be minimized (if not eliminated). And although the idea of adding sweetener to food or beverages is discouraged, the use of stevia or monk fruit instead of free sugars (e.g., cane sugar) or chemical sweeteners is not really explored.(5) Nor is the use of non-saturated fats that have been extracted from whole plant foods, such as safflower or soybean oil, adequately discouraged or recommended to be minimized. With isolated free sugars or fats, there is a stripping away of both the fiber and many of the micronutrients that naturally accompany them when in the whole plant food.
Additionally, I always recommend to my patients that they use a high-quality full spectrum digestive enzyme blend at the beginning of each meal in order to optimize the digestion and absorption of nutrients. I typically recommend Dr. Ellen’s Way ‘Digest Supreme’ or Dr. Ellen’s Way ‘G.I. Calm’ for those with gastrointestinal complaints. Also, for those specifically with uncomfortable excess gas causing bloating and flatulence, I now recommend ECM GasEnd Supreme.(6,7)
Till next month, please be well, be healthy, and remember…
“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison.”
―Ann Wigmore
Dr. Ellen
References:
“Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee” at https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/Scientific_Report_of_the_2025_Dietary_Guidelines_Advisory_Committee_508c.pdf
“Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Submits 2025 Scientific Report to HHS and USDA” at https://www.cov.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/2024/12/dietary-guidelines-advisory-committee-submits-2025-scientific-report-to-hhs-and-usda
“Prioritizing Plant-Based Protein in the Scientific Report of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee is a Step Forward, Doctors Say” at https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/prioritizing-plant-based-protein-scientific-report-2025-2030-dietary-guidelines
“Why Vegan?” at https://drellencutler.com/june-2022-newsletter/
“A Look at Processed Sugars and Their Substitutes” at https://drellencutler.com/december-2023-newsletter/
“News about Digestive Enzymes” at https://drellencutler.com/december-2022-newsletter/
“A New Supplement for Gas and Bloating” at https://drellencutler.com/a-new-supplement-for-gas-and-bloating-ecm-gasend-supreme-february-2025-newsletter/
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information and the products discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease.
