A Step Forward with Continued Room for Improvement: WellWay’s Perspective on the New Real Food Guidelines

By Lauren Schultheis, Registered Dietitian & WellWay Director of Health Services

The newly released Real Food dietary guidelines represent a meaningful improvement over the long-standing MyPlate framework. There is a visible shift toward whole foods, a clearer role for protein and fats, and an emphasis on limiting consumption of refined carbohydrates.

At WellWay, we recognize this progress. However, while the updated image moves the conversation in a better direction, important gaps remain.

What Changed: Key Improvements Over MyPlate

Compared to MyPlate, the Real Food model introduces several welcome and overdue updates:

• Protein is no longer an afterthought and is now given clear visual priority — protein helps maintain muscle mass, balance blood sugar, and serves as an important building block of our bodies
• Vegetables are emphasized over fruit, and both are now visually shown to be a priority over “whole grains,” reflecting differences in nutrient and metabolic impact
• Healthy fats are included, rather than implicitly avoided
• Ultra-processed foods and added sugars are de-emphasized, notably and thankfully not even included, indicating that these foods should ideally not make an appearance on our “plates”

These shifts better reflect modern nutrition science and address some of the shortcomings of MyPlate. That said, the updated pyramid still leaves a lot of room for interpretation and without the right guidance or education, could still lead to poor health outcomes for Americans.

Let’s dive into the gaps.

Quality is Barely Addressed

The general categories of food and their prioritization represent an improvement. However, gaps exist in each category regarding guidance for consumers on the appropriate quality.

Whole Grains

While the guidelines specify “whole grains are encouraged, refined carbohydrates are not,” there is no explanation of what qualifies as a whole grain versus a processed grain. This leaves substantial room for misinterpretation.

For example:

• A consumer may assume that “whole grain bread” or “whole wheat crackers” align with the recommendation
• In reality, many of these products are highly processed and have metabolic effects similar to refined grains
• Minimally processed whole grains — such as rice, quinoa, oats, or barley — are fundamentally different in structure, digestion, and blood sugar response, but are not specifically called out to help consumers understand what is meant by a whole, unprocessed grain

Without clear definitions, substantial room remains for interpretation, and for food manufacturers to list “made with whole grains” on the label, misleading consumers to think the product IS a whole grain rather than that it started as a whole grain but no longer resembles a whole food (case in point, the crackers example listed above).

Protein

A spectrum exists when it comes to quality of protein and dairy. As an example, grass-fed red meat is significantly higher quality in terms of nutrients, inflammatory properties, and omega-3 content versus its grain-fed counterpart. If an individual simply starts eating more red meat and only consumes grain-fed options without adjusting the processed foods or refined sugar in their diet, things could get worse, not better. The same applies to dairy — while whole-fat dairy is specifically listed, organic should also be noted to help individuals avoid the hormones that can exist in dairy products if the cows from which it came were treated with them.

Fats

Healthy fats are recommended, but confusion persists among consumers regarding what constitutes a healthy fat. Seed-based oils, like canola, peanut oil, hydrogenated oils (which are being actively removed from foods as required by law), soybean and corn oils are still utilized in thousands of food products and households regularly, which over time can lead to chronic inflammation. The new pyramid mentions several excellent healthy fats — eggs, avocado, nuts — but without also reducing inflammatory fats and refined carbohydrates, simply “eating more fat” may not create the health outcomes intended by these new recommendations.

Protein Recommendations: A Step Forward — But Still Too Low

One of the most notable improvements in the Real Food guidelines is the inclusion of a specific protein recommendation, something MyPlate notably lacked. This is an important step forward, as adequate protein intake is foundational for muscle mass, metabolic health, blood sugar regulation, and improving one’s health span.

However, the recommended protein intake remains too low for many individuals, particularly:

• Active adults and athletes
• Older adults seeking to preserve muscle mass
• Women in perimenopause and menopause
• Individuals in weight loss or metabolic recovery phases

While the presence of a concrete protein target is an improvement (although most people will not take the time to calculate kg to pounds — could we not simply list the amount per pound of body weight and make it easier on everyone?), the amount recommended appears closer to minimum requirements than optimal intake for health and function.

Position: Protein guidance should reflect optimal health needs, not merely deficiency prevention — and should acknowledge that protein requirements vary significantly by age, activity level, and physiological state.

Fruits and Vegetables: A Positive Shift, With Room for Precision

The Real Food guidelines appropriately emphasize vegetables over fruit, which is a meaningful improvement over MyPlate’s equal treatment of the two.

Vegetables generally provide:

• Higher micronutrient density
• More fiber relative to sugar
• Lower glycemic impact

This distinction is important for metabolic health, decreased inflammation, and blood sugar regulation, and WellWay strongly supports this shift.

However, as with other components of the model, quantitative guidance is lacking. Without defining what a “serving” means, individuals are left guessing how much is appropriate for each serving and may miss the mark. Even if someone eats “three servings of vegetables and two of fruit” based on their interpretation, chances are they still will not meet their daily need for antioxidants, nutrients, and vitamins and would still benefit from a daily, high-quality multivitamin to fill in the gaps.

Personalization: Understanding What Is Generally Recommended Versus Understanding What Is Right for You

While overall the new pyramid is an improvement from the previous pyramid and the MyPlate visual, what is still missing — and perhaps may never be a realistic outcome for this type of mass education to Americans — is the need for individuals to receive personalized recommendations.

The new pyramid does a better job of guiding people toward generally better eating habits, and if followed could positively impact the general population in the areas of blood sugar regulation and a decrease in inflammation, and have a variety of additional positive impacts on the state of health in America, IF they are followed properly.

If someone is currently eating McDonald’s every day for breakfast and fast food or microwave meals every night for dinner, and starts following these new guidelines, would they likely experience improvements in health? Yes. But we also need to move away as a country from what individuals should or can be doing to not just avoid disease, but how to optimize their personal health span — the years in which a person is not just alive, but they are alive and vital, energetic, and able to actively participate in their life.

That being said, a general recommendation cannot be specific as well. Meaning, individuals should still be considering what they need as just that — an individual.

Are you pregnant? Do you suffer from seizures or are recovering from or treating cancer? Are you an elite athlete? Are you in perimenopause? Are you battling osteoporosis? Do you have a current chronic condition? Are you trying to gain muscle mass? Do you have PCOS? Maybe every time you eat vegetables you get bloated (indicating an underlying dysfunction in the gut). The list goes on.

Each individual should still reflect on their starting place — if following these new guidelines feels like a far cry from what you are currently eating (meaning, starting to move in the direction of the new pyramid would mean positive changes in what you are currently eating) then great — start there.

But when it comes to health optimization, improving health span, and feeling as good as you possibly can, we would still encourage you to consider the following recommendations:

• Annual comprehensive blood work to ensure metabolic health, optimize blood sugar, maintain healthy cholesterol levels, optimal Vitamin D, and low inflammation levels
• Tailoring your total carbohydrate and grain recommendations to your activity levels and goals
• Considering quality with all food that you eat — use resources like the Dirty Dozen to select your fruits and vegetables, learn more about processed oils versus anti-inflammatory fats and oils, and consciously choose quality protein like grass-fed beef, wild salmon, organic chicken, etc.
• Aim for 4-6 handfuls of veggies per day (versus the recommended 3) and keep fruits to 2 fist-sized portions per day

The Real Food guidelines represent progress in the right direction, moving us closer to evidence-based nutrition recommendations that prioritize whole foods and acknowledge the importance of protein and healthy fats. However, true health optimization requires going beyond general guidelines to understand your individual needs, prioritize food quality, and work with qualified professionals who can help you navigate the nuances of nutrition science.

Informed individuals make better health decisions. While these updated guidelines provide a stronger foundation than their predecessors, your personal health journey deserves the precision and attention that only individualized guidance can provide.