New U.S. Dietary Guidelines May Prioritize Beans, Peas, and Lentils Over Processed Meat

A new report is suggesting updates to the U.S. dietary guidelines placing an emphasis on beans, peas and lentils as protein sources and decreasing consumption of processed and red meat.

Plant Protein Over Processed Meat

The report was released Tuesday (December 17). It comes from an advisory committee to the Agriculture Department made up of 20 professors in the public health and medical sectors. The new guidelines go into effect next year and will remain in effect for five years.

“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.

Beans, peas and lentils are categorized as both vegetables and protein foods under the current dietary guidelines. The move from the vegetable list to the top of the list of protein foods is being done in hopes to encourage people to eat more plant-based protein.

There is a link between diets high in processed red meat like bacon and hot dogs and a greater risk of negative health outcomes including cancer and dementia, according to past research. Questions remain about the health effects of unprocessed red meat like steak cooked at home or lamb chops, but years of research and diet rankings find the Mediterranean diet to be the healthiest choice.

Under the Mediterranean diet, people eat multiple servings of fruits and vegetables daily with whole grains, beans, nuts, olive oil, and seafood. Red meat is only eaten occasionally. The Mediterranean diet has been linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, high cholesterol and hypertension.

According to Odoms-Young, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and replacing some red and processed meats with plant-based protein sources could help address that.

“That’s not saying that you can’t eat animal protein, but how do you have a diet where you can increase the amount of plant-based protein in the diet,” she said.

When it comes to the new guidelines, Odoms-Young said the proposal is just a preliminary step and U.S. leaders should figure out how to implement policies and programs that help people meet the country’s dietary guidelines.

The report was submitted to the Agriculture Department and Department of Health and Human Services for review. A 60-day public comment period is underway. After that the government can decide whether to adopt some or all the recommendations.

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