“Trust me, you’ll like it, it’s good for you!” We get no shortage of diet-related advice – from family and friends, coworkers, social media and TV, highway billboards, and more. But not all of it is up-to-date or accurate.
Americans need the latest evidence about nutrition in their lives so they can make informed choices about what to eat – and they need it as soon as possible. However, reliable sources about eating “right” or “well” aren’t always clear. Over the years, we’ve been told things such as focus on food groups, the food pyramid, or increase the variety of colors on your plate. Yet none of these one-size-fits-all strategies will uniformly achieve the seemingly elusive goal of “eating a healthy, balanced diet.” After all, nutrition is personal.
What does eating well actually mean, and is it the goal we should strive to achieve?
One thing is clear: today’s food and nutrition landscape has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Food systems have changed. Food technologies have changed. What we eat and how we eat has changed. Ultra-processed foods now make up ~70% of the U.S. food supply. People eat out, and on-the-go, more often than they used to.
What’s also clear is that the American diet is not keeping us healthy. Diet-related diseases threaten our public health, the economy, and national security; they are estimated to lead to the death of 15,000 Americans every week and cost the U.S. economy more than $1.1 trillion every year. What can be done to solve this difficult public health challenge? I believe strongly that rigorous nutrition science will transform how Americans view food, and in turn how, what, and when we eat.
First, we need to start with the end in mind. That means solutions-based nutrition research designed to solve problems. Addressing diet-related diseases means we can’t focus narrowly on food. Nutrition is much bigger, reflecting the reciprocal interrelationships between food systems, the food environment, dietary patterns, nutrition, the environment, and many other factors.
Second, we need to support rigorous and reproducible science that people can trust. A strong foundation of scientific research, along with effective, practical, real-world regulatory measures, is critical to inform consumers as well as to influence the food and agricultural industries.
We are not starting from scratch. NIH’s broad investment in nutrition science, spanning numerous Institutes and Centers (ICs), has contributed to key policy decisions made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which regulate ~80% and ~20%, respectively, of food consumed in the United States.
Current regulations include requiring food labels and removing harmful substances from the food supply. One notable example involves trans fats: ingredients that used to be present in processed foods like cookies, crackers, snack cakes, frozen foods, fried foods, margarine, and baked goods to improve texture and extend shelf life. After NIH-funded research studies linked trans fats to increased LDL-cholesterol, reduced HDL-cholesterol, inflammation, and higher risks of heart disease and death, dietary recommendations changed. Then FDA required the labeling of trans fats in food products, which significantly reduced public consumption. As we continued to learn more about the health harms of trans fats, they were eliminated from the U.S. food supply in 2023.
NIH’s work with federal partners is critical in advancing the science to provide the evidence base needed to inform food-related regulatory and policy decisions. This is highlighted by the Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research (co-led by the Department of Health and Human Services and USDA) and was recently showcased at a December 2024 workshop that explored strategies for enhanced NIH-FDA collaboration.
Nutrition science plays a central role in developing trustworthy information for individuals and families. But it doesn’t end there. As has been the case time and again, the food industry (farmers and producers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and foodservice establishments) will adapt to what people want. So yes, getting the facts straight is super important and has many downstream consequences.
Investing in rigorous, reproducible, transparent, and solutions-based nutrition science research generates scientifically sound information. To keep America healthy, we need evidence-based facts to solve the problems about what and how we eat in a manner that makes sense for individuals, families, and communities. As always, I welcome comments, feedback, and suggested new directions for nutrition science research. If you’re on LinkedIn, feel free to share your favorite healthy snack or recipe with me – I’m always looking to expand my cookbook! Until next time, please visit the ONR website to get office-related information, and consider signing up to the ONR Updates list to receive monthly emails (including the Drew’s Views blog and the ONR Director’s Updates newsletter).
Nutrition Is Who We Are!
Drew Bremer
May 6, 2025