Susan Weiner, MS, is a diabetes care and education specialist and the founder and owner of Susan Weiner Nutrition, PLLC.

Susan Weiner, MS

US 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines: Addressing Alcohol Intake Recommendations

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture released the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans on January 7, 2026. Along with establishing the first-ever limit on processed foods, firmly encouraging a focus on whole foods, and recommending a higher proportion of protein, the guidelines come with several uncertainties and limitations.

Prominent among these uncertainties is a significantly broader suggestion of how people should manage their alcohol intake. Rather than explicitly stating a recommended number of drinks, the guidelines now advise patients to limit their alcohol intake. To address and attempt to explain this vague suggestion, Diabetes Dialogue cohosts Diana Isaacs, PharmD, and Natalie Bellini, DNP, met with Susan Weiner, MS, a nationally recognized dietitian and diabetes care and education specialist.

Check out the full episode on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans 

Weiner opens by raising substantive concerns about revisions to alcohol-related recommendations in the newly released US dietary guidelines, emphasizing the clinical and policy implications of shifting from quantitative to more ambiguous language. She notes that previous guidelines clearly defined alcohol limits—less than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women—while also specifying standard drink sizes and citing evidence linking alcohol consumption to adverse outcomes such as cancer, liver disease, metabolic dysfunction, and other chronic conditions. In contrast, the updated guidance broadly advises individuals to “drink less,” without numerical thresholds, detailed definitions, or accompanying references to alcohol-related harms. Weiner argues that this lack of specificity reduces the guidance’s practical value for clinicians and increases the risk of misinterpretation by patients, who may rationalize unsafe drinking behaviors under vague recommendations.

The discussion highlights how this ambiguity is particularly concerning in populations with diabetes or alcohol-induced dysglycemia, where alcohol can acutely and chronically disrupt glucose regulation, exacerbate liver disease, and affect multiple organ systems. Bellini reflects on the importance of having firm, evidence-based language that clinicians can reference directly in counseling and documentation, noting that tighter guidance previously served as a useful clinical tool. Bellini expresses worry that the revised wording may be perceived as a loosening of standards, potentially undermining public health messaging at a time when alcohol consumption increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beyond individual patient care, the conversation emphasizes that dietary guidelines function as policy instruments. Weiner notes that these recommendations shape nutrition education curricula taught to children, influence school lunch programs, and may affect federal food and nutrition programs such as WIC, SNAP, and even military food services. From this vantage point, changes to alcohol guidance could have broad societal consequences, reinforcing the need for clarity and scientific rigor.

The segment also explores how professional organizations interpret and adopt federal dietary guidelines. Isaacs observes that groups such as the American Heart Association appear to be maintaining more conservative, established recommendations (such as the plate method, emphasis on lean meats, and limiting saturated fats) despite broader inclusions in the new guidelines, including butter and beef tallow. Weiner anticipates that organizations focused on cardiovascular disease, cancer, and metabolic health will publicly scrutinize and potentially challenge the revised alcohol language, given its established links to disease, mental health outcomes, and excess caloric intake. The discussion concludes with the expectation that further debate and guidance from professional societies will emerge, underscoring that alcohol cannot be excluded from clear, evidence-based dietary recommendations.

Editor’s Note: Isaacs reports disclosures with Dexcom, Abbott, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Medtronic, Insulet, and others. Bellini reports disclosures with Abbott Diabetes Care, MannKind, Povention Bio, and others. Weiner reports no relevant disclosures.

Mozaffarian D. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. JAMA. Published online January 14, 2026. 

Videos

This segment of Diabetes Dialogue spotlights the new guidelines’ broad suggestion regarding alcohol, as well as how organizations may interpret it.

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Diabetes Dialogue: Reviewing the New US Dietary Guidelines with Susan Weiner, MS

In this episode, cohosts Diana Isaacs, PharmD, and Natalie Bellini, DNP, welcome Susan Weiner, MS, a nationally recognized dietitian and diabetes care and education specialist, for an in-depth discussion of the newly released US Dietary Guidelines and the inverted food pyramid. The conversation is framed for clinicians navigating nutrition counseling in diabetes and cardiometabolic care, with a focus on how these recommendations translate - or fail to translate - into real-world practice.

00:01:00 The new food pyramid and a history of diet guidelines

00:03:36 Shortcomings of the new guidelines

00:14:55 How professional organizations deal with the guidelines

00:17:38 Linoleic acid in processed foods

00:30:32 Translating the guidelines for patients

Weiner begins by providing critical historical context, noting that the traditional food pyramid has not been used since 2011 and that the current changes effectively replace the MyPlate model rather than revising the pyramid. She explains that the Dietary Guidelines are updated every five years and are informed by an extensive scientific advisory report exceeding 400 pages, while the public-facing guidance consists of a condensed narrative and visual summary. A central theme of the discussion is the disconnect between these two documents, with Weiner highlighting that several evidence-based findings did not clearly carry through to the final recommendations.

The panel examines major shifts in emphasis, including an increase in recommended protein intake and greater prominence of animal-based foods and full-fat dairy. Weiner raises concerns about internal inconsistencies, particularly the continued recommendation to limit saturated fat to less than 10% of total calories while simultaneously promoting food patterns that could easily exceed that threshold. The group discusses how these recommendations may unintentionally displace fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains—an issue of particular relevance for people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and those treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Additional areas of ambiguity are explored, including the lack of explicit guidance on processed meats, minimal discussion of fiber targets despite references to gut health and fermented foods, and confusing messaging around sodium use. The episode also highlights the removal of specific quantitative alcohol limits, replaced by the vague directive to “drink less,” which Weiner argues weakens clinical counseling and may have downstream implications for public health messaging and policy.

The discussion broadens to consider equity, affordability, environmental impact, and feasibility, questioning how these guidelines will affect federal nutrition programs, school meals, and food access in resource-limited communities. The episode concludes with a call for clinicians to rely on individualized medical nutrition therapy and professional judgment, while anticipating that organizations such as the American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association may issue more targeted guidance in response to these controversial updates.

Podcasts

Diana Isaacs, PharmD, and Natalie Bellini, DNP, are joined by Susan Weiner, MS, to discuss the recently released US Dietary Guidelines.

Susan Weiner, MS

Articles