Dietary Guidelines

Today, about half of all American adults have one or more chronic diseases, often related to poor diet. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizes the importance of creating a healthy eating pattern to maintain health and reduce the risk of disease. Everything we eat and drink — the food and beverage choices we make day to day and over our lifetime — matters.

MyPlate offers messages, resources, and tools to help you make the choices that are right for you.

2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines: Answers to Your Questions

Find answers to questions about caffeine, cholesterol, fat, and more.

MyPlate Messages

Find MyPlate tips and solutions that reflect your personal preferences, values, traditions, culture, and budget. The MyPlate consumer messages to help communicate the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are:

Everything you eat and drink over time matters. The right mix can help you be healthier now and in the future. Start with small changes to make healthier choices you can enjoy.

Find your healthy eating style and maintain it for a lifetime. This means:

● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

○ Focus on whole fruits.

○ Vary your veggies.

● Make half your grains whole grains.

● Move to low-fat and fat-free milk or yogurt.

● Vary your protein routine.

● Drink and eat less sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars.

New MyPlate Resources and Tools for Professionals

Find personalized information and ideas to use with individuals and communities.

MyPlate, MyWins	Use this tip sheet with your audience to help them find their healthy eating solutions for everyday life and create personal MyPlate, MyWins.
MyPlate Plan	The MyPlate Plan shows food group amounts – what and how much to eat within your calorie allowance.
MyPlate Style Guide	Updated images and graphics to support MyPlate promotions and communications.

Stay Up-to-Date with MyPlate

Visit ChooseMyPlate.gov frequently to find updates, new resources, and other tools to help you bring MyPlate to life. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or sign up for email updates to stay informed about the latest MyPlate activities. Become a National Strategic Partner, Community Partner, or Campus Ambassador.

Dietary Guidelines Resources for Professionals

Provides guidance on key elements of healthy eating patterns and focuses on preventing the diet-related chronic diseases that continue to affect Americans.

2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans	Find the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines and related resources, including the Executive Summary, press release, Q&As, and previous Dietary Guidelines.
Communicator’s Guide	Resource designed to help others create consumer nutrition education materials and messages based on the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Top 10 Things You Need to Know about the New DGAs	Lists the top things Americans should know when it comes to the Dietary Guidelines.
Dietary Guidelines Answers	Find answers to questions about caffeine, cholesterol, fat, and more.

2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is updated every five years. Work to develop the 2020-2025 edition of the Dietary Guidelines is currently under way. You can learn more about this process at DietaryGuidelines.gov. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines is the current edition and will remain so until the next edition is released.

MyPlate, MyWins

Marie, Virginia

Now I start my day with fruits and veggies by having a homemade smoothie for breakfast. I use almond milk, banana, berries, and kale or spinach (for iron). You have such great tips!!

Mavis, California

I am a nutritionist and personal trainer. I work for physicians in their offices helping to bring awareness to patients in a preventative healthcare environment. Many of the patients love MyPlate's simple-to-use tools and graphics on eating properly.

Nicole, Texas

I started to add more vegetables to every meal for my family. We also drink more water. We also eat more beans because they are inexpensive and have healthy fiber. Good tips!

Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate