Triangular treats, boorish bucks, and fatty facts.

Our lives just got flipped upside down, and you might not have even noticed.

To start the new year, the USDA and HHS released the new, and greatly improved, dietary guidelines to give our health a boost. (Did you also see their super modern website?). While the food groups themselves haven’t changed much, the key is now on the amounts to consume for each.

Let’s take a bite out of our new food pyramid! Cue Pyramids by Frank Ocean.

The biggest change is the dethroning of grains and carbohydrates as the foundation of our diets. Refined and processed carbs have been kicked to the curb, and the only carbs left are whole grain.

Carbs are still very necessary to our health. From hormone production, energy levels, and recovery, they cover a wide range of functions. We recommend keeping complex and highly nutritious carbs such as yams, wild grains, whole oats, and milk (more on that later). You also don’t have to skip on pasta and bread. These “simpler” carbs can be made whole when heirloom, unhusked flour is used and made at home!

We would never encourage you to quit carbs. Have you ever seen Zac Efron cry over pasta? Yeah, we understand why.

Recommendations on fruits and veggies have not changed. Keeping healthy amounts of fibers has always been important (hello happy toilet trips!). And besides regularity, fiber also controls blood sugar and increases your microbiome’s diversity. The rise of “fibermaxxing” would agree. We have even found sodas with added fiber.

Beyond fiber, fruits and veggies could give us much more if the section called for 1) in-season and 2) organic and/or regenerative sources.

You know in season produce is much better if you’ve ever tasted an autumn apple. In-season supports our local economies, tastes richer, and has higher nutritional content.

On top of deliciousness, eating seasonally exposes the body to nutritional variety throughout the year and synchronizes your circadian rhythm. Sounds woo-woo, but when you eat seasonally, you are attending to your bodies cyclical needs. For example, root vegetables in the winter provide warmth and energy to fight the cold, while fresh fruits in summer aid with hydration.

Organic and regenerative produce offers a new superpower: the superpower to say you’re helping the Earth one bite at a time. The fewer chemicals and more soil-friendly growth methods allow a food’s nutrition to truly shine and saves you and the planet from substances that can be detrimental to our long-term health. Although “organic” has its caveats, regenerative produce is more promising for the future of healthy food and healthy soils.

While proteins have always been in the pyramid, they are finally snugly at the top.

The recommended protein intake increased from 0.8 g/kg of body weight to 1.2-1.6 g/kg. A 50 to 100 percent increase. This change is for a number of reasons. Proteins promote longevity by supporting muscle development, retention, and recovery, as well as provide high nutritional density.

Animal-based proteins are emphasized in the pyramid and with reason. They are much more nutritionally diverse than plant-based alternatives, and can even fight inflammation when sourced right.

Grass-fed, pasture-raised, and wild-caught create happier and healthier animals. If you consume meat, it is not only ethically better to have animals live a good life, but it is much healthier for your own body. If sticking to plant-based proteins, be aware of the nutrients your body cravings and needs to attend to them appropriately.

Finally, the fats. We LOVE the fats.

The emphasis on increasing our intake of healthy fats is something to celebrate. We’ve been told for so long that fats are villains, yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. Fats support everything from our hormone health, gut health, mental health, and even our cellular function, affecting everything from our skin, to our eyes and our brains (which is actually 50-60% fat!).

Fat is foundational.

Our favorite sources come from olive oil, yogurt, kefir, butter, full-fat milk, ghee, tallow, and the like. As always, grass-fed, organic, and regenerative sourcing is king here. Don’t run away from fat; our bodies are build for it.

Like almost everything in life, a healthy diet comes from experimenting and finding what works for you. Pull foods out, put some in, and always source direct when possible.

Your optimal diet will be the one that gives you a clear head, a kind heart and energy to tackle the day. Your health should be your number one priority— don’t let diet fads tell you otherwise. And remember eating pancakes won’t derail your health overnight. Complete restriction often leads to full-on regression. Enjoy your food with grace and love.

Get some full-fat raw milk, straight from the source!

See you soon! Let us know if this newsletter made you want to eat a stick of butter. It’s okay; we sneak a bite in from time to time, too.

To healthier days,

rearchitecting the broken food system. freeing the food.