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Hungarian Dietetic Associaton responds to faulty American dietary guidelines
Hungary’s leading dietetic body has voiced concerns about newly released US dietary guidelines, warning that some of the recommendations may conflict with established scientific consensus and are not necessarily suitable for all populations.
The Hungarian Dietetic Association felt the need to respond
The Hungarian Dietetic Association (Magyar Dietetikusok Országos Szövetsége, MDOSZ) responded after the United States unveiled updated nutrition advice that effectively reshapes the traditional food pyramid.
The new American approach places greater emphasis on higher protein intake and foods rich in saturated fats, including butter, beef tallow, red meat and full-fat dairy products. US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – who is a lawyer and does not have any medical qualification – summarised the shift by encouraging Americans to “eat real food” instead of ultra-processed products.
There are some positives but you should take it with a grain of salt
While Hungarian experts acknowledge several positive elements, they argue that the stronger focus on saturated fats is problematic. According to MDOSZ, excessive consumption of such foods runs counter to both international and Hungarian scientific consensus, which recommends limiting saturated fat intake to no more than 10 per cent of total daily energy. Higher intakes are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Protein intake is another key point of contention. The US guidelines suggest a daily intake of 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, a level Hungarian dietitians believe requires careful consideration.
Although protein is an essential nutrient, current evidence does not support such high intake levels for all healthy adults. Existing recommendations of 0.8–1.0 grams per kilogram per day are generally regarded as safe and sufficient, writes HVG.
“Higher protein intake may be justified for certain groups, such as older adults aiming to preserve muscle mass or athletes,” said Zsuzsanna Szűcs, president of MDOSZ. “However, there is not enough evidence to recommend this at a population level, and long-term high protein consumption should be avoided in people with kidney disease or certain metabolic conditions.”
Not everyone can or should adjust their nutrient intake according to an international guideline
The association also highlighted that dietary habits, public health indicators and food availability vary widely from country to country. As a result, international guidelines cannot be applied wholesale without adapting them to local circumstances.
At the same time, Hungarian dietitians welcome several aspects of the American recommendations. These include encouraging higher consumption of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, reducing added sugars and highly processed foods, and placing greater emphasis on dietary fibre and gut microbiome health.
Such principles are consistent with well-researched dietary patterns like the Mediterranean and Nordic diets, which share common features despite cultural differences.
Everybody should follow a more personalised plan
MDOSZ stresses that general guidelines cannot fully account for individual factors such as age, physical activity levels and health status. In Hungary, they point out, protein deficiency is rare, while animal protein sources tend to dominate over plant-based alternatives.
The organisation continues to promote its own “Okostányér” (Smart Plate) model as a practical guide to balanced eating. Beyond health benefits, the model also considers environmental sustainability: diets based on the Okostányér framework are estimated to have an ecological footprint around 20 per cent lower than that of a traditional Hungarian diet.
“Scientific consensus” means absolutely nothing. There were many “scientific consensuses” in human history on a whole host of things, and today we laugh at their stupidity.
As for Kennedy being “a lawyer and does not have any medical qualification,” I didn’t hear anyone saying that when the likes of Bill Gates were pushing the garbage about the Chinese Virus “vaccines” and face diapers. Nor does anyone discuss the qualifications of all the talking heads around who pontificate on everything from illegal migration to environmentalism to human biology.
Kennedy wants people to eat natural, nutrient-rich foods. Only a fool would demur at that… – or those on the payroll of big food corps that are feeding us literally garbage.
Unfortunately it is so, that scientific consensus – collective agreement of most experts in a specific field, reached through rigorous peer review, evidence, and testing, representing the most reliable understanding of a topic – it means nothing to the current USA regime.
Some even say that vaccines and face masks are useless even though science has proven their tremendous benefits. Often you also hear “whataboutism” from these denialists pointing some mistakes made in the history, when the truth is, that science is constantly evolving and new discoveries make old discoveries obsolete, sometimes even laughable.
Without admitting prior errors, science would not evolve. Maybe one day science can prove that consumption of massive amounts of meat and other animal products with high content of saturated fats and protein is good for all, but so far there is zero scientific evidence of it being good for all, only for some specific smaller groups. So its up to you, do you believe in current US administration or current scientific consensus. I believe in scientific consensus, until science proves itself completely wrong or discovers improvements and a new consensus is made.