Expert Q&A

Evaluating Concerns About Protein, Fiber, and the 2025 Dietary Guidelines

Patti Truant Anderson, MPH, PhD

Key Highlights

  • The updated Dietary Guidelines increased emphasis on protein, despite most Americans already meeting or exceeding protein needs.
  • Recommendations to prioritize plant-based proteins were not adopted in the final guidelines, raising concerns about alignment with current evidence.
  • Fiber intake targets remain unchanged, yet fiber continues to be under-consumed and underemphasized despite strong links to reduced cardiometabolic and cancer risk.
  • Messaging that appears to support greater intake of meat and full-fat dairy may conflict with longstanding guidance to limit saturated fat.

In this interview, Patti Truant Anderson, MPH, PhD, discusses the recent updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, focusing on changes to protein recommendations and the perceived lack of emphasis on fiber. Dr. Anderson highlights concerns that the final guidelines diverged from expert advisory committee recommendations to prioritize plant-based proteins over animal sources, potentially creating confusion and undermining public trust. She also addresses contradictions related to saturated fat guidance, the continued underconsumption of fiber among Americans, and the broader emphasis on overall dietary patterns rather than individual nutrients.

Additional Resources:

Consultant360: From your perspective, what specifically changed compared with prior guidelines, and where do you think confusion is coming from?

Patti Truant Anderson, MPH, PhD: From my perspective, a major change was the increase in the protein recommendation. But when you look at the actual guidelines, there is a lot that is quite similar to prior versions of the guidelines. What may be confusing are some discrepancies with what’s in the written guidelines versus what the new inverted pyramid conveys.

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which is made up of nutrition experts who reviewed the state of the evidence over two years, recommended prioritizing plant-based proteins like beans, peas, and lentils over animal proteins. This recommendation was ignored in the final guidelines, which is unfortunate because emphasizing meat over plant proteins does not align with scientific evidence. Diets high in red and processed meat and low in plant foods are associated with heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. A recent poll we conducted found that nearly half (45%) of Americans said they would lose trust in the Dietary Guidelines if this recommendation was ignored, which unfortunately is exactly what happened.

Americans don’t need more protein. They need more fiber. Most Americans already get more than enough protein in their diet. But most Americans don’t eat enough fiber, which helps people feel full and improves heart and metabolic health. Beans, peas, and lentils are a good source of protein and also are high in fiber, a critical nutrient that animal proteins lack.

Consultant360: Are there any common misinterpretations you’re already seeing among healthcare professionals or patients?

Dr. Anderson: Encouraging Americans to eat more meat and full-fat dairy conflicts with the guidelines’ own recommendation to limit saturated fat. Meat and full-fat dairy are high in saturated fat, which increases the risk of heart disease. These contradictory messages risk confusing the public and undermining decades of guidance on a heart-healthy diet.

Consultant360: Do the new guidelines meaningfully change recommended daily fiber intake targets for adults, or is the shift more about how those targets are framed?

Dr. Anderson: While the fiber intake recommendation did not change, the importance of fiber was not emphasized in this iteration of the guidelines. This is unfortunate because evidence of the protective role of fiber on disease is solid. A large meta-analysis published in The Lancet found that higher fiber intake was associated with a 15% to 30% lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and premature death.

Fiber also improves satiety and diet quality, making it easier to reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods, a stated goal of the new guidelines.

The prior dietary guidelines noted that about 85% of Americans under-consume beans, peas and lentils, and had recommended shifting the type of proteins that Americans eat towards under-consumed protein sources, which also included fish, nuts, soy and beans.

Consultant360: The guidelines emphasize food patterns rather than nutrients in isolation. How do you reconcile that approach when counseling about fiber?

Dr. Anderson: The emphasis on food patterns is not new in this iteration of the guidelines– it was a large focus within the 2020 guidelines.

Here’s a quote from the executive summary of the 2020 guidelines: “Researchers and public health experts, including registered dietitians, understand that nutrients and foods are not consumed in isolation. Rather, people consume them in various combinations over time—a dietary pattern—and these foods and beverages act synergistically to affect health. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020 puts this understanding into action by focusing its recommendations on consuming a healthy dietary pattern. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines carries forward this emphasis on the importance of a healthy dietary pattern as a whole— rather than on individual nutrients, foods, or food groups in isolation.”

To me, this means that it is important to think about your overall habits and prioritize eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, rather than being overly concerned about specific nutrient content at each meal.

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