U.S. dietary guidelines should emphasize beans and lentils as protein, new proposal says [View all]

Source: NBC News

Dec. 12, 2024, 5:00 AM EST


Eat more beans, peas and lentils as protein sources and decrease consumption of processed and red meat — those changes are among the recommendations detailed in a new report suggesting potential updates to U.S. dietary guidelines.

The guidelines are changed on a five-year schedule, and the new set is expected to go into effect next year. The report, released Tuesday, comes from an advisory committee to the Agriculture Department, made up of 20 professors in the public health and medical sectors.

The committee proposed that the updated guidelines, which would remain in effect into 2030, should emphasize plant-based proteins and encourage people to eat more whole grains and decrease their intake of sugary drinks, sodium and processed foods.

"There’s strong evidence to suggest that a dietary pattern that is high in beans, peas and lentils is associated with lower chronic disease risk,” said the advisory committee’s vice chair, Angela Odoms-Young, a professor of maternal and child nutrition at Cornell University.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/dietary-guidelines-beans-lentils-protein-less-red-meat-rcna183681