New Food Pyramid: What It Recommends Eating

An international team of nutrition scientists has presented a new International Food Guide Pyramid that puts vegetables, fruit, pulses, whole grains and nuts at its base, with animal products in a secondary role even for protein, according to upday News. The pyramid was developed by Karen Della Corte of Brigham Young University and 22 nutrition scientists around the world through the International Carbohydrate Quality Consortium, Nutrition Insight reported. The team evaluated more than 250 specialist publications and compared dietary guidelines from Canada, Germany, Australia, China, the Netherlands, the United States and the Nordic countries, as reported by upday News and Nutrition Insight. The findings appeared in the journal Advances in Nutrition.

The researchers derived three principles: diets should be mostly plant-based, the source of fats and proteins matters more than the amount, and carbohydrates must be judged by quality rather than quantity, according to upday News. The pyramid advocates prioritizing plant foods, choosing healthier fats and protein sources over red and processed meats, and emphasizing whole grains, Nutrition Insight reported. Della Corte recommends beans, peas, lentils, fish, poultry or yogurt more often than red and processed meats without making them the largest part of the meal.

For carbohydrates, the glycaemic index is central, Anette Buyken of Paderborn University told upday News. It shows how strongly a food raises blood sugar. The team recommends oatmeal, wheat bran and quinoa, while many German breads have a relatively high index and whole-grain varieties work best, upday News reported. The pyramid recommends limiting refined grains and sugary sodas because they affect blood glucose levels more rapidly, Nutrition Insight reported.

The shape is a deliberate contrast to US guidance. In early 2026, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presented guidance with animal products at the top of an inverted pyramid, and the researchers wanted to counter that, according to upday News. In the new pyramid, the plant-based base sits at the top.

The pyramid also factors in environmental concerns by aligning with the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet, Nutrition Insight reported. The EAT-Lancet Commission suggested the Planetary Health Diet could prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths each year while reducing the environmental impacts of livestock farming and greenhouse gas emissions from food production. The authors reported no funding received for this study.

Della Corte said there is substantial agreement in nutrition science about the foundations of healthy eating and that a healthy diet will not look exactly the same for everyone around the world, according to Nutrition Insight. She noted that durum pasta, basmati rice, tortillas, rice noodles, bulgur and other staples with a low to moderate glycaemic index can all fit into a healthy diet. Buyken added that nutrition policies need to support healthier choices through measures on food marketing, access and prices.