The updated U.S. dietary guidelines announced this week that prioritize protein and full-fat dairy are a welcome change, a Norwalk nutrition expert said. On Wednesday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled the new guidelines during a White House press briefing, saying Americans need to "eat real food."

The law requires the guidelines to be updated every five years. The new recommendations emphasize consuming more protein and eating full-fat dairy instead of low-fat dairy. The 10-page dietary guidelines are a stark difference from the 164-page document issued in 2020.

"This is a fantastic foundational first step into educating the American people on you know what types of foods our bodies are designed to eat, which is simply as they pointed out, real, whole, natural foods," said Katie Diehl, a Norwalk nutritionist and gut health expert.

For the past 10 years, Diehl has helped people with their gut health and nutrition. She supports recommendations to eliminate added sugars and highly processed food because "the body has no use for it."

"My goal is to always get people to look at food or nutrition under a completely different lens. I want people to read food by food category. I want people to think, OK, when I'm eating something, how is this helping me, or how is this preventing a disease, versus how is this feeding a disease," Diehl said.

The guidelines recommend doubling protein and using full-fat dairy items, as well as healthy fats like olive oil.

Diehl said people should focus on the quality of the protein and not eat things like red meat every day.