The medical professional association supports the new guidelines' inclusion of whole food as a key element of chronic disease prevention, especially its conclusions on increased fruit and vegetable intake and limited consumption of added sugars, refined grains, highly processed foods, and sugary drinks.
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) supports the new Dietary Guidelines' focus on whole food as a key element of chronic disease prevention, especially its conclusions on greater intake of fruits and vegetables, and limited consumption of added sugars, refined grains, highly processed foods and sugary drinks.
ACLM's position is that for the treatment, reversal, and prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases, an optimal dietary pattern has two key evidence-based elements. First, the foundation of a healthy eating pattern should be centered on a wide variety of whole and minimally processed plant foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, and seeds, while not exceeding energy requirements. Second, a healthy eating pattern minimizes red and processed meats, foods high in saturated fat, and ultra-processed foods containing added sugars, sweeteners, unhealthy fats/oils, refined carbohydrates and excess sodium.
Food-based interventions to support healthy dietary patterns span a continuum from health promotion to disease prevention, treatment, and reversal with variations in intensity and therapeutic dosing.
We commend the administration for its focus on unhealthy food's connection to chronic disease and will continue to offer our assistance to advance food as medicine efforts.
About ACLM®: The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable health care delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole-person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine in medical education, providing more than 1.2 million hours of lifestyle medicine education to physicians and other health professionals since 2004, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies.
Media Contact
Jean Tips, American College of Lifestyle Medine, 2142401872, [email protected], https://lifestylemedicine.org/
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medine
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