Food Pyramid Update: What Clinicians Should Know
In this episode of the Nutrition411 podcast, Lisa Jones, MA, RDN, LDN, FAND and Caroline Susie RDN, LD, unpack the updated food guide pyramid, noting that while the visuals and messaging have shifted, the underlying nutrition science remains largely unchanged. Their discussion also explores how these updates may create confusion around topics like saturated fat and protein, and highlights the critical role of dietitians in translating national guidance into personalized, evidence-based care. Finally, they detail the growing need for clinicians to actively counter nutrition misinformation and reinforce credible, science-driven messaging in practice and across digital platforms.
Additional Resources: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. DietaryGuidelines.gov. Accessed April 7, 2026. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/
TRANSCRIPT
Lisa Jones, MA, RDN, LDN, FAND: Hello and welcome to Nutrition 411, the podcast, where we communicate the information you need to know now about the science, psychology, and strategies behind the practice of dietetics. Today's episode explores two major shifts shaping nutrition care, the release of the updated food guide pyramid and the expanding access and use of GLP-1 medications. Together, these developments are influencing patient expectations, clinical decision-making, and the evolving role of the dietician. And I'm so excited because we are lucky to have Caroline Susie, who is a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and an award-winning registered and licensed dietician with more than 20 years of experience specializing in adult weight management. Caroline is known for calling out misinformation in nutrition pop science, and is passionate about keeping conversations evidence-based, practical, and real. She refuses to sacrifice quality of life in the name of health and proudly embraces her reputation as a carb crusader.
By day, she supports clients and partners with employers to address population health needs, but by night, she's a self-proclaimed dietician by day foodie by night, exploring Dallas's newest restaurants with a belief that no food is off limits. A fitness enthusiast and lover of food and wine, Caroline brings balance, candor, and credibility to every conversation. Caroline, welcome.
Caroline Susie, RDN, LD: Ah, are so excited. I feel like Lisa, it feels like longtime listener, first time caller. Love your pod, big subscribe, all the things. So I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Jones: Well, thank you for being here. Well, let's dive right in with our first episode, and that's really understanding this whole thing with the new food guide pyramid. I should say old food guide pyramid that they then brought back. I mean, who knows? It's crazy. But my first question for you, Caroline, is let's start with the big picture. So what would you say is the most meaningful updates in the new food guide pyramid from your perspective?
Susie: So I really feel like long story short, nothing super new or suddenly changed. What is a bit confusing, if you will, is just the messaging. It's not necessarily the numeric recommendations, it's just messaging. And I think that that's potentially where patients are perceiving perhaps some mixed messages where they're seeing images that look bigger on a certain plate. But really when you dive into it and look at it, there's not too much of change. The saturated fat requirements are this day. We still want you to have whole grains. We want you to have fruits and vegetables. But when you look at the image, I really do. I think the core issue is just around messaging versus anything else.
Jones: Yeah, I can see how that ... But that leads to confusion with people too, I think, because for those of us that remembers that we're here, we're practicing dietitians when the old one was here, and then it's like, okay, remember that stick figure running up the steps. And then they're like, "What can we do with this? We want to bring back this relic from the past. Let's flip it upside down." And then it came out and you're like, whoa, it's kind of starling because it's like, let's push more protein. But yes, so we can talk more about that as well.
Susie: I think the other thing that, I don't know, MyPlate, just from a visual image, we eat off plates. So I really feel like that resonated with patients like, oh, okay, this is what my plate should look like. We're not eating off pyramids. So I do think, again, that just reminding patients, hey, quite frankly, the science really hasn't changed. The numeric recommendations are pretty similar. And at the end of the day, it still comes down to portion size, frequency and potentially substitution. What are you replacing things with? I mean, that's what matters.
Jones: Yeah. And I love those teaching points too, because I'm sure dietitians out there that are practicing clinicians are saying this day in and day out as we speak right now. So how would you say this version differs in tone or emphasis compared to the previous guidance that we had?
Susie: Yeah, I think besides just the visual changing, I think what has been a little probably the most confusing is just around saturated fats. So I feel like having a lot of conversation on what the evidence shows on saturated fats, yes, we know that higher intake is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. We know that lowering your saturated fat intake lowers your LDL cholesterol. The dietary guidelines are still the same about saturated fat. And I think it's an opportunity for dietitians to talk about that it's not just lowering that intake or removing saturated fat. It's, "Hey, what are you replacing it with? " And it's huge time for our profession to step up and say, "Hey, did you know that if you replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats, it's going to be a game changer for your heart health markers." But if you replace those saturated fat with more refined carbohydrates, you're not going to see those improved outcomes.
So again, it's the dietician's time to shine, if you will, on how we talk about dietary patterns, kind of nods to the Mediterranean style vibes on what really it can do around cardiovascular benefits.
Jones: Yeah, that's really good. Nod to the Mediterranean style because at the end of the day, how many times is that's one of the best diets that people could follow. So I think that's really helpful. And then in terms of talking about this updated pyramid and clarifying confusion around it, or potentially, how does it potentially create new questions for clinicians that you've been hearing about recently?
Susie: I think the biggest question, again, I mean, I feel like saturated fat has a new question because you see that big, beautiful steak up there, so an opportunity to talk about what saturated fat is, and again, the evidence behind it. I think that probably ties in nicely to what the protein recommendations are. Obviously, anyone listening to that, we all know, it is super personalized on the patient's health history, what conditions they're living with and what their goals are, but excited to have the conversation more about that, particularly, I mean, I work with women of a certain age, if you will. So I do feel like that's been one nice thing is it's been really fun to talk a little bit more about how much protein we really want to consider. But also, again, I keep going back to saturated fats, but I also do think it's an opportunity for us to talk about how this isn't about eliminating any certain foods or eliminating any certain food groups.
We know that dairy and animal foods can still fit into a healthy pattern, but at the end of the day, this comes down to your portion size, your frequency. And again, if you're replacing, what are you replacing it with? So again, dieticians being the nutrition experts, we're perfect to have these conversations to give those personalized evidence-based recommendations.
Jones: Yes. And I love what you're saying about you're framing it as it's an opportunity is what it is for dietitians to get our voices heard. And we're always talking as dieticians, how can we get our voices out there? And this is one of the ways because there is ... So I think that's excellent. So thank you for bringing that to the table or to our plate, I should say.
Susie: Love it.
Jones: How about talking about dietitians, how can dietitians then interpret these changes, but also when translating national guidance into individual care? Because that is going to change, you already mentioned this depending on who you're working with, it's not one size fits all.
Susie: Yeah. And again, I don't really feel like it's new Lisa because I feel like we've always been taught to personalize. We're never going to slap the same dietary approach to everybody because that's just not real life. We all have cultural preferences, food preferences, et cetera. So I do think this gives us the opportunity to, again, really talk about how we support patients on a personal level because everything is personalized. And I also, you know me, I'm every dietician type girl, if you will. This is another opportunity for you to talk about your credentials, to talk about your experience, what the differentiator is by having that behind your name, what that means. Because in the time of wellness influencers, I feel like there's no better time to shine than right now, really putting yourself out there into how you can help patients. And just the name of the game is your education and evidence-based care.
Jones: Yeah, that's so true. That's such a great point. And you mentioned something about these wellness influencers, and I have to ask you this, have you seen any ... How are they adjusting to it? I haven't been on social media and seen anything that they're saying about the ... What are they saying about this new pyramid?
Susie: I mean, it's exhausting. Mad respect for you not being active on it, but I just ... It was a year ago or two years ago that only 2% on the information that was on nutrition information that was on TikTok was accurate. I think I want to say Fitbit did that study, (Editor's Note: The survey was from MyFitnessPal) but we can put it in the show notes, but it is really ... Some people might find that statistic and just want to get a blanket and curl up and watch Lifetime and be sad. I want to challenge you and take this as there is no better time to put yourself out there and educate the public on who you are, what your background is, and why frankly, they should care about that background. I really do think now more than ever, the public needs more faces giving evidence-based information. And I know it's awkward for a lot of us.
It's not everyone's cup of tea, if you will, but I really think clearly there's an opportunity and demand for sharing evidence-based conclusions with research and how we can help clear up some of the confusion, whether it's with the pyramid or with guidelines, et cetera.
Jones: Yeah, that's a really great point because there's so many ... And it's hard to keep up with that. And that's one of the things I really like that the Academy's working on is that misinformation hub. And I think that that's fantastic because one of the things that you would hear just from practicing for ... I'm also a practicing dietician for over 20 years as well. And over the years, that's one of the things we've been fighting against. And now it seems like it's even more common. There's more and more information. Literally, you could sit down and just from some of the crazy stuff that you see on social media, make up your own fake news headlines.
Susie: Which is really terrifying. But yes, the nutrition fact check, that's the quote unquote official name. It's a great tool, another additional tool in your toolkit just to have to have these conversations or doing a post about it and just talking about it. And again, all of the talking points and the research that you want to cite, et cetera, the Academy really has done the work for you, which is awesome. And they all have all various things. There's saturated fat, there's raw milk. I mean, you name it. If it's a pseudoscience topic, they've probably addressed it. So it's worth a visit to bebop on over there and check out that nutrition fact check. Because again, I think it's a wonderful tool for dieticians. It's incredible power of education for consumers. But again, if you're looking for quote unquote content ideas, oh my God, boom, we're done. You have it.
Jones: Yes, Caroline, we are going to end with that fantastic call to action for this episode to be bop over and we will put that link in the show notes. So Caroline, thank you for helping us break down what's new and what it means in practice.
Susie: My pleasure. Such a delight.