on PinterestHealth and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. announced new policy changes to dietary guidelines, including those related to alcohol.
on PinterestHealth and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. announced new policy changes to dietary guidelines, including those related to alcohol. Image Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
- RFK Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently announced new dietary guidelines, which include guidance on alcohol consumption.
- The new guidelines remove the old standard guidance of 2 drinks per day for males and 1 drink per day for females, are are less clear about limits.
- Experts caution that removing a specific threshold leaves Americans without a yardstick for what constitutes moderate consumption.
The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr., recently released new dietary guidelines.
These new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030 inverted the food pyramid, prioritizing proteins, fruits, and vegetables. It also emphasizes the importance of limiting added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and highly processed foods.
They also changed the long-standing guidance for alcohol consumption. Prior recommendations for moderate alcohol consumption were 2 drinks per day for males and 1 drink per day for females.
“So there is alcohol [in] these dietary guidelines, but the implication is, don’t have it for breakfast. There should be something done, a small amount,” commented Mehmet Oz, MD, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in a news conference on January 7.
However, the new guidelines are not clear about exactly how “a small amount” should be measured.
New alcohol consumption guidelines are less clear
The new guidance for alcohol consumption states, “Consume less alcohol for better overall health.”
“The simple message to ‘consume less alcohol for better overall health’ is well-intentioned but could be interpreted in different ways,” noted Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, Preventive Cardiology Dietitian at EntirelyNourished.
She continued by stating that some may see this guidance as vague or optional, while others may underestimate the risk.
“Without clear numbers, there’s also a chance that social or cultural messaging around drinking could overshadow health considerations,” she added.
No amount of alcohol consumption is safe for your health
The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that even low levels of alcohol consumption can bring health risks. Alcohol can play at least a casual role in over 200 injuries, diseases, and other health conditions.
Drinking alcohol has been associated with various conditions, such as:
- liver disease
- heart disease
- various types of cancer, such as breast, colorectal, and liver
“The health effects of drinking alcohol have been well studied and include increased risk of many cancers (including colorectal, liver, and breast cancers), fatty liver disease and cirrhosis, heart disease (including cardiomyopathy and stroke), pancreatitis, and obesity,” said Cheng-Han Chen, MD, board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA.
“I will still be advising my patients to drink as little as possible, and preferably not at all,” he told Healthline.
Routhenstein recommended that people who choose to drink alcohol should have a practical approach in the same way they would with any other substance that carries risk. For example, aim for as many alcohol-free days as possible.
She also encouraged people to stay within
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