Is red meat back? Jillian Michaels breaks down saturated fat and the new food pyramid

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Following last week’s announcement ofupdates to the food pyramid, nutrition experts continue to weigh in on how the new recommendations could change Americans’ eating habits.

The new pyramid, which was announced by HHS officials on Jan.7, puts a greater emphasis on red meat, such as beef, pork and lamb, as well as other protein-rich foods.

The guidelines call for more focus on “real food” and a move away from ultraprocessed foods, added sugar and refined carbs.

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“These guidelines return us to the basics,” Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr.said during the announcement.“American households must prioritize whole,nutrient-dense foods— protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats and whole grains — and dramatically reduce highly processed foods.This is how we ‘Make America Healthy Again.’”

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“The food pyramid has been effectively inverted.This is wonderful.This is long overdue,” she said during an on-camera interview.

‘Demonization’ of red meat

The food pyramid guides “hundreds of billions of dollars” of tax money for things like public school lunches, food for the military and nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, according to Michaels.

“This is the reason that the food pyramid, prior to Kennedy inverting it, was recommending things like refined grains and sugary cereal — and famously, sugary cereal wasconsidered healthierthan things like beef,” she said.“And at the same time, red meat and saturated fats were demonized.”

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The red meat itself wasn’t the problem, Michaels suggested — it was about the saturated fat in the red meat.“So now, the conversation comes down to: Is saturated fatgood for youor bad for you?”

The expert emphasized that saturated fat is “unquestionably better” than refined vegetable oils, due to the extraction process that exposes the oils to unhealthy chemicals.

“The food pyramid has been effectively inverted.This is wonderful.This is long overdue,�(iStock;Getty Images)

If there was a “continuum of fat,” ranging from good to bad, olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids would be at the top, due to their disease-fighting capabilities and their benefits for heart health andbrain health, according to Michaels.

“Along this continuum, saturated fat is a little further down,” she said.“And then at the bottom, you have the refined oils.”

How much saturated fat is too much?

There is still some controversy about whether consuming large amounts of saturated fat is healthy, Michaels acknowledged.

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One thing that hasn’t changed in thenew guidelinesis the recommended maximum intake of saturated fat, which remains at 10% of total daily calories.

That would mean in a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, the saturated fat limit would be 200 calories, or around 22 grams of fat.

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“You would be hard-pressed to find any M.D.or any Ph.D.in nutrition science who’s going to warn you away from 200 calories a day of saturated fat,” Michaels said.“And is it better than the refined oils?100%.”

One thing that hasn’t changed in the new guidelines is the recommended maximum intake of saturated fat, which remains at 10% of total daily calories.(iStock)

“The concerns come when you’re eating huge amounts of saturated fats — let’s say you’re carnivore, you’re keto, and your entire 2,000-calorie-a-day diet is all saturated fat.” In that case, Michaels recommendstalking to a doctor.

“You’re perfectly fine eating 200 calories of saturated fat from animal protein a day.”

Ultimately, however, the healthy level of saturated fat intake depends on the individual, Michaels said.

“It has to do with yourindividual lipid profile, and this is something that you can get to the bottom of with your doctor,” she advised.