New diet guidelines say to double up on protein, but nutrition experts
are wary
[January 20, 2026]
By JONEL ALECCIA
Protein just got a big boost from U.S. health officials.
The latest federal dietary guidelines tell Americans to “prioritize
protein foods at every meal” and advise increasing daily intake — up to
double the amount of previous recommendations.
“We are ending the war on protein,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy
Jr. said in a White House post on social media.
The guidance — including a new food pyramid — emphasizes red meat, whole
milk and other animal sources of protein, while downplaying plant-based
offerings.
But top nutrition experts question the protein push, saying Americans
already consume more protein than they need, and there’s no new evidence
that people need to drastically ramp up consumption. For many people,
eating much more protein could lead to more fat and more cases of
diabetes, they say.
“If you’re actively building muscle with strength or resistance
training, more protein can help,” said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a Tufts
University nutrition expert. “Otherwise, you’re getting enough.”
Others worry that the dietary advice will accelerate the trend of
companies encouraging Americans to embrace extra protein in foods
including bars, cereals and snacks – even water.
Sales of protein-enriched packaged food will increase at a time "when
one of the main messages is ‘eat real food, eat whole foods,’” said
Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert at Stanford University. “I think
they’re going to confuse the public in a big way.”
Here’s what you need to know about the new protein recommendations:
What is protein and how much do people need?
Protein is a macronutrient that is in every cell in the human body. It's
vital for growth and repair of muscle, bone, skin, hair and other organs
and tissues. It’s made of building blocks called amino acids, including
some that the body doesn’t make and must come from food.
For decades, the U.S. dietary guidelines and other sources have
recommended that people consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of
body weight each day, or about 54 grams daily for a 150-pound person.
The new recommendation advises people to consume 1.2 grams to 1.6 grams
of protein per kilogram of body weight — up to double the previous
advice. The guidance says adults should consume at least 100 grams of
protein per day with half or more coming from animal sources.
The average adult man already consumes about 100 grams of protein a day,
or twice the old recommendation.
Why did the new dietary guidelines change?
The previous protein recommendations were calculated to prevent a
nutrition deficiency, according to a scientific review published with
the new dietary guidelines.
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New York strip steaks are on display at a Sam's Club, Wednesday,
Sept. 24, 2025, in Bentonville, Ark. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
 “It represents the lowest intake
that maintains equilibrium in most healthy adults but does not
reflect the intake required to maintain optimal muscle mass or
metabolic function under all conditions,” the review said.
The new document relied on evidence from 30 studies that looked at
the effects of higher protein diets on weight management and
nutrient adequacy.
It concluded that protein intakes well above the previous guidance
“are safe and compatible with good health.”
What’s the harm of eating more protein?
Nutrition experts noted that trials focusing on weight reduction
aren’t typically used to make dietary recommendations for the
general population. And, in a new article published in Journal of
the American Medical Association, Mozaffarian said there is little
evidence, outside of use for strength or resistance training, that
“higher protein builds muscle or provides other health benefits.”
“In fact, excess dietary protein can be converted to fat by the
liver,” Mozaffarian wrote. That can increase the risk of the
development of dangerous fat in the abdomen that surrounds vital
organs and boost the risk of diabetes, he added.
Protein in processed foods
Other nutrition experts said the recommendation to eat more protein
could be useful if it helps achieve another key goal of the new
guidelines: encouraging people to eat more whole foods and fewer
highly processed foods such as packaged snacks and cookies.
“The main problem with the food supply is the processed
carbohydrates,” said Dr. David Ludwig, an endocrinologist and
researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital.
But that will be a tall order for consumers faced with a slew of
processed packaged foods — including toaster pastries, cereals and
salty snacks — imbued with the halo of added protein.
“I think the American public’s gonna go buy more junk food,” Gardner
said.
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