WASHINGTON (January 7, 2026) – Today, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the release of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). The updated DGAs nearly double the recommended daily amount for protein intake, increasing it to 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram body weight, depending on your age group and individual caloric needs. The document focuses on building a healthy diet around whole foods, limiting highly processed foods and added sugars, and prioritizing protein at every meal like nutrient-dense beef. Red meat is specifically mentioned as a healthy source of protein in a varied, balanced diet.
“As a mom, I understand the importance of eating nutritious wholesome protein and as a rancher, I see the hard work that goes into providing the best possible food for our communities. The updated and simplified Dietary Guidelines will help more families like mine learn the facts about beef’s nutritional value and make the best decisions when they’re shopping for a nutrient-rich, whole, and delicious protein,” said Kim Brackett, an Idaho rancher and NCBA vice president. “Beef provides high amounts of protein plus nine other essential nutrients like iron and B vitamins, and gold-standard clinical studies have consistently shown that it is easy to incorporate beef into a balanced, heart-healthy diet. We appreciate Secretary Rollins and Secretary Kennedy underlining the role of beef as an important part of a healthy diet.”
The Dietary Guidelines released today are simplified and more consumer-friendly than previous cycles. The streamlined approach taken by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. keeps science-backed recommendations at the heart of the DGAs, but makes them far more practical for the families, caregivers, school administrators, and medical professionals who are making decisions every day about what to feed our children, seniors and Americans of all ages. Other recommendations in the DGAs include:
- Incorporate beef tallow and other healthy fats into the cooking process.
- Use healthier cooking methods like baking, broiling, roasting, stir-frying, or grilling, all of which can be used with the wide variety of retail beef cuts available to American families.
- Introducing nutrient-dense foods like meat during infancy and early childhood to support growing children.
Although much discussed in recent months, the DGAs do not make any changes to the existing recommendation that saturated fats should not make up more than 10 percent of daily calories. The guidelines do note that healthy fats are a natural part of real foods like meat, and these fats support many important functions in the body like nutrient absorption.
“As Americans face the double burden of being overfed and undernourished, they are searching for reliable, affordable solutions to meet their nutritional needs and personal preferences. Thankfully, there are a wide range of beef options in the marketplace,” said Registered Dietitian and nutrition scientist Dr. Shalene McNeill, executive director of nutrition science for NCBA. “On a per-gram basis, beef offers more nutrient value that many other animal and plant options. Incorporating beef in the diet can help support the overall health and well-being for all Americans.”
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