Ep 208 Dietary Guidelines Part 1: Who’s behind these guidelines?

Ep 208 Dietary Guidelines Part 1: Who’s behind these guidelines?

From This Podcast Will Kill You by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

April 28, 2026 · 58 min · Season 9

About this episode

This episode explores the history and evolution of dietary guidelines, examining the influences behind them and their relevance today.

Over the decades, dietary guidelines have taken a diverse array of shapes, from pamphlets to wheels, from plates to pyramids. In many cases, the shapes have changed more than the recommendations they contain. This week and next, we explore those recommendations - who’s making them, how they have changed over time, and how closely they align with what we should be eating. First, we delve into the long history of dietary guidelines and how their intentions have evolved as the food landscape drastically changed over the 20th century. Then we interrogate the conflicts of interests at the heart of their formation, questioning how much these recommendations are backed by science vs industry interests. Ultimately, we come back to the question of “if few people actually use these guidelines, why should we care about them at all?” Turns out, we have lots of feelings on the matter. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics covered

  • dietary guidelines
  • food recommendations
  • conflicts of interest
  • history of nutrition
  • science vs industry

Keywords

  • dietary guidelines
  • nutrition
  • food pyramid
  • health recommendations
  • conflicts of interest

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Exactly Right, iHeartPodcasts, dietary guidelines

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