Dr. Rafael Urrialde
Rafael Urrialde, Professor in the Department of Genetics, Physiology and Microbiology at the Complutense University of Madrid and in the Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences at CEU San Pablo University; President of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine; Secretary of the Spanish Nutrition Foundation; Honorary Member of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Food Sciences; and Full Member and Vice President of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), reflects together with Emilio Martínez de Victoria, Emeritus Professor of Physiology at the University of Granada and member of the Scientific Committee of the Ibero-American Nutrition Foundation, on the new inverted pyramid established in the Dietary Guidelines developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, in the article “Paradigm of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” published on January 21 on the specialized portal Kómoda News.
According to both experts, the discrepancies between this new graphic and previous representations and recommendations are a clear example of the separation between risk assessment—based on scientific evidence—and risk management, carried out by health and agriculture authorities using political criteria. “One of the most striking aspects of the new pyramid, apart from focusing on the presence or absence of foods rather than on their representativeness and recommendations based on weekly serving frequency, is that the selection criteria are similar in terms of distribution. In both cases (the plate model and the new pyramid), priority is given to proteins, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, including nuts and vegetable oils. The most relevant differences, however, concern dairy products, which are present in the pyramid but were absent from previous recommendations, and water, which is represented in the opposite way,” Urrialde and Martínez de Victoria note.
Scientific evidence maintains a general reference intake of 2,000 kilocalories per person per day and details specific recommendations: vegetables at 2.5 servings per day, distributed by color and with less emphasis on starchy vegetables; fruits also at 2.5 servings per day, prioritizing whole fruit over juices; and cereals at around 170 grams per day, with a clear preference for whole grains. Regarding dairy products, scientific guidance favors skimmed or low-fat options without added sugars, in contrast to the executive summary and the pyramid graphic, which include whole-milk products as well as fortified plant-based beverages. As for protein, scientific consensus recommends approximately 740 grams per week, distributed among meat, poultry and eggs, fish and seafood, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy, and emphasizes that plant-based sources should gain prominence while reducing the consumption of red meat and processed meat products—contrary to what the pyramid suggests. With regard to fats, the recommendation is to prioritize oils rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as olive, canola, and soybean oils, in line with the Mediterranean Diet, while limiting solid saturated fats such as butter or margarine.
The authors nonetheless highlight certain strengths of the new graphic, such as the emphasis on fruits and vegetables, the preference for whole grains, and the reduction of sugar and salt. However, they criticize the strong reinforcement of protein consumption, which may lack scientific robustness given that much of the population already meets or exceeds its protein needs, and note that dietary fiber—despite its importance—receives less attention than expected. They also point out the striking persistence of recommendations involving saturated fats, such as those found in red meat, which also contribute exogenous cholesterol. The article further includes a brief survey of health and nutrition professionals indicating that many believe the new pyramid could generate confusion by showing only nutritional quality without clearly indicating consumption frequency or quantity.
A recognized expert in food regulation, Urrialde is the author and co-author of scientific publications related to nutrition education. He has served as Head of Health and Food Safety at Puleva Food, Director of the Health and Food Area at the Union of Consumers of Spain, Technical Coordinator of the magazine Ciudadano, Director of Health and Nutrition at Coca-Cola Iberia, Analysis Technician at the Institute of Cold Research of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and collaborator with the Chair of Plant Physiology at the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid. He is also a member of the Editorial Committee of Kómoda News, a portal that has received the Award for Excellence in Public Relations in the category “Fight against ‘Fake News’” from the International Public Relations Association.
