Paging Dr. Frischer: FDA Healthy Foods

The FDA has redefined the definition of healthy foods. What has changed?

The original Food and Drug Administration definition of “healthy” food is 30 years old. It tended to look at total fat and cholesterol, without recognizing that fats are not all the same, and that some fats can actually lower our disease risks. Knowledge about diet and nutrition has grown. The goal of the updated criteria is to improve public health, including diet-related chronic ailments such as heart disease and diabetes, and to help us make healthier choices.

Currently, more than half of the American diet comes from processed, packaged foods. We are all aware that there is an ever-growing crisis of preventable, diet-related chronic disease in the United States, but do you know just how severe it is? 73% of adults are obese or overweight, and 38% of children (aged 12 and older) have prediabetes! Based on recommended levels, more than three-quarters of Americans have diets low in vegetables, fruit and dairy, and nearly 80% eat too many saturated fats, 63% exceed limits on sugar, and 90% exceed limits on sodium.

Under these new rules, products that claim to be “healthy” must contain a certain amount of food from one or more groups: fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy and protein. Limits are placed on added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. Sugar cereals, highly sweetened yogurts, white bread, and some granola bars will no longer be labeled “healthy.” On the other hand, avocados, olive oil, salmon, eggs, some trail mixes, and even water will be allowed to use the label.

Note that eggs now qualify as a “healthy” food, and in the past, they did not. Indeed, eggs are one of the highest quality proteins available. They contain eight essential nutrients that support health at every age. Using the previous model, salmon also was not considered a “healthy” food. While salmon indeed is a fatty fish, these fats are healthy and unsaturated, and salmon is very high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids.

These new rules for nutrition labeling will take effect early this year, but manufacturers will have until February of 2028 to comply. Given the state of the current American diet, it is certainly time to redefine “healthy.” Let’s use all the tools at our disposal to make better choices.