We’ve spent a lot of time over the past few weeks discussing the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For the most part, I’ve been very happy with the new recommendations. But more importantly, I’m happy with the new attitude.

The message is simple: eat real food.

To Make America Healthy Again, we must return to the basics. American households must prioritize diets built on whole, nutrient dense foods—protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains.

This week I want to discuss their stance on Dairy and Healthy Fats.

What the Guidelines Say

Eat healthy fats from whole foods such as eggs, seafood, meats, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados.

When cooking with or adding fats to meals, prioritize oils with essential fatty acids, such as olive oil. Other options can include butter and beef tallow.

In general, saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10% of total daily calories. Significantly limiting highly processed foods will help meet this goal.

The new guidelines move away from viewing saturated fat as the main offender. They emphasize fat quality and food context (i.e., fats that come packaged in whole foods: meat, eggs, omega-3–rich seafood, nuts and seeds, olives, avocados, and dairy). They explicitly state that full-fat dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese) can fit into a healthy diet without defaulting to skim only, and recommend about 3 servings of dairy per day, ideally without added sugar.

My Take

It’s about time they repent and ask for forgiveness. The vilification of fat began in 1977 when the United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs published the first Dietary Goals for The United States. It stated that Americans could improve their health and reduce their risk of heart disease by eating less fat, especially saturated fat. This “fat hypothesis” was based on a handful of ambiguous studies and a good deal of speculation. It was just a guess constructed by a senate committee.

By 1981 the Dietary Goals began to reshape the nutritional philosophy and habits of most Americans. Dieticians and medical professionals began preaching that reducing all fat in our diets would help reduce our waistlines and prevent heart disease.

The food industry “came to our rescue” by producing hundreds of different types of low-fat, high sugar, ultra-processed “health foods” that made metabolic health worse, not better. They also encouraged us to replace saturated fats with industrial seed oils that are high in linoleic acid, which is an essential polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid.

The American diet changed dramatically in the 80s, and our health spiraled downwards. We cut back on fats that occurred naturally in foods, replacing them with industrial fats and sugars. The obesity epidemic for adults, adolescents and children began 45 years ago, around 1980, when the government made this drastic change.

For years I’ve been telling people the fat that occurs naturally in food is good for you. I’ve had lots of clients argue with me: “You’re going against what my doctor told me.”

I’ve always explained that God wouldn’t have put the fat in the foods if they were bad for us. Just look at wild carnivores (they’re not obese). They don’t eat the white meat only and throw away the skin. Why should we?

Enough of my ranting. Let’s get back to the science.

In 2010 the Harvard School of Public Health performed a meta-analysis of all the studies completed on the association between saturated fats and heart disease. Their study found that when carbs were used to replace saturated fats, they increased the risk for heart disease by increasing blood triglycerides and lowering HDL cholesterol levels. The meta-analysis also found that there was no overall effect of saturated fat or red meat on either heart disease or diabetes. The study did, however, find that processed meats like hot dogs and lunchmeat resulted in a 42% greater risk for heart disease and a 19% greater risk for diabetes.

What to Avoid

The American diet is loaded with industrial seed oils (like soybean, canola, corn, cottonseed, and sunflower oil). They are heavily concentrated in restaurant fried foods, commercial salad dressings, mayonnaise, packaged snacks (chips and crackers), baked goods, and ultra-processed meat/dairy alternatives. They are everywhere, even in barbeque sauce. It’s hard to find a packaged food that doesn’t contain them.

Seed oils are typically processed using unusually high heat, bleaches, deodorizers, and petroleum-based solvents like hexane, which strip away antioxidants. They are cheap to produce, which is why they are everywhere.

Industrial seed oils are high in linoleic acid, an essential polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid that your body cannot synthesize on its own. We all need omega-6 fatty acids in our diets, but we must keep in mind that they are pro-inflammatory. We also need omega-3s (from fish, grass fed beef, or walnuts), which are anti-inflammatory.

Up until about 100 years ago, the omega-6/3 ratio in our diet was about 4:1 or less. However, the typical Western diet now provides an omega-6/3 ratio around 20:1 in favor of omega-6. The overconsumption of linoleic acid from industrial seed oils puts us in pro-inflammatory, pro-allergic, pro-thrombotic state. Our internal physiology is constantly messed up from our high consumption of industrial seed oils.

The concerning issue is seed oils don’t combust (burn) well at a cellular level. Some of them get incorporated into cell membranes, mitochondria, or receptor cites disrupting normal cellular function and even interfering with insulin sensitivity. They can contribute to chronic metabolic issues over time.

If you want to dramatically improve your health, avoid these eight industrial seed oils (The Hateful 8) at all costs: soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, and rice bran oil.

What to Eat

Eat healthy fats that occur naturally in real foods such as meat, seafood, dairy, nuts, olives, and avocados. These fats support brain health, hormone function, and nutrient absorption when consumed in their natural forms.

Yes, I can keep the skin on my chicken. (By the way, it’s loaded with collagen.)

There’s nothing wrong with saturated fat.

Here are a few guidelines to keep your healthy fat consumption on track:

• Enjoy all cuts of beef, pork, and poultry. There’s no reason to limit dark meat or remove the skin; it’s all good.
• Buy the highest quality meat you can afford—grass feed, pasture raised, free range, no steroids or antibiotics.
• Trim the fat off cuts of traditionally raised beef. That’s where the steroids are.
• Have salmon at least once a week. Enjoy fish as often as you like, just don’t deep fry it.
• Cook with olive oil, avocado oil, butter, and ghee.
• Enjoy whole, full-fat dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt.
• Have a handful of walnuts or macadamia nuts every day. They are great sources of omega-3s.

Again, the USDA has taken a huge step in the right direction. Hopefully these changes will help Make America Healthy Again. We have a long way to go. Let’s do our part by buying and eating the right foods.

Stay Strong and Keep it Simple,

Bo Railey