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The Dietary Guidelines for Americans aim to translate the most up-to-date nutrition science into practical advice for the public as well as to guide federal policy for programs such as school lunches. But the newest version of the guidelines, released on Jan. 7, 2026, seems to be spurring more confusion than clarity about what people should be eating. Ive been studying nutrition and chronic disease for over 35 years, and in 2020 I wrote Sugarproof, a book about reducing consumption of added sugars to improve health. I served as a scientific adviser for the new guidelines. I chose to participate in this process, despite its accelerated and sometimes controversial nature, for two reasons. First, I wanted to help ensure the review was conducted with scientific rigor. And second, federal health officials prioritized examining areas where the evidence has become especially strongparticularly food processing, added sugars and sugary beverages, which closely aligns with my research. My role, along with colleagues, was to review and synthesize that evidence and help clarify where the science is strongest and most consistent. https://youtube.com/watch?v=zo-f0j1E_jY%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 The latest dietary guidelines, published on Jan. 7, 2026, have received mixed reviews from nutrition experts. Whats different in the new dietary guidelines? The dietary guidelines, first published in 1980, are updated every five years. The newest version differs from the previous versions in a few key ways. For one thing, the new report is shorter, at nine pages rather than 400. It offers simpler advice directly to the public, whereas previous guidelines were more directed at policymakers and nutrition experts. Also, the new guidelines reflect an important paradigm shift in defining a healthy diet. For the past half-century, dietary advice has been shaped by a focus on general dietary patterns and targets for individual nutrients, such as protein, fat and carbohydrate. The new guidelines instead emphasize overall diet quality. Some health and nutrition experts have criticized specific aspects of the guidelines, such as how the current administration developed them, or how they address saturated fat, beef, dairy, protein and alcohol intake. These points have dominated the public discourse. But while some of them are valid, they risk overshadowing the strongest, least controversial and most actionable conclusions from the scientific evidence. What we found in our scientific assessment was that just a few straightforward changes to your dietspecifically, reducing highly processed foods and sugary drinks, and increasing whole grainscan meaningfully improve your health. What the evidence actually shows My research assistants and I evaluated the conclusions of studies on consuming sugar, highly processed foods and whole grains, and assessed how well they were conducted and how likely they were to be biased. We graded the overall quality of the findings as low, moderate or high based on standardized criteria such as their consistency and plausibility. We found moderate to high quality evidence that people who eat higher amounts of processed foods have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and death from any cause. Similarly, we found moderately solid evidence that people who drink more sugar-sweetened beverages have a higher risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as quite conclusive evidence that children who drink fruit juice have a higher risk of obesity. And consuming more beverages containing artificial sweeteners raises the risk of death from any cause and Alzheimers disease, based on moderately good evidence. Whole grains, on the other hand, have a protective effect on health. We found high-quality evidence that people who eat more whole grains have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death from any cause. People who consume more dietary fiber, which is abundant in whole grains, have a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes and death from any cause, based on moderate-quality research. According to the research we evaluated, its these aspectstoo much highly processed foods and sweetened beverages, and too little whole grain foodsthat are significantly contributing to the epidemic of chronic diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease in this countryand not protein, beef or dairy intake. From scientific evidence to guidelines Our report was the first one to recommend that the guidelines explicitly mention decreasing consumption of highly processed foods. Overall, though, research on the negative health effects of sugar and processed foods and the beneficial effects of whole grains has been building for many years and has been noted in previous reports. On the other hand, research on how strongly protein, red meat, saturated fat and dairy are linked with chronic disease risk is much less conclusive. Yet the 2025 guidelines encourage increasing consumption of those foodsa change from previous versions. The inverted pyramid imagery used to represent the 2025 guidelines also emphasizes proteinspecifically, meat and dairyby putting these foods in a highly prominent spot in the top left corner of the image. Whole grains sit at the very bottom; and except for milk, beverages are not represented. Scientific advisers were not involved in designing the image. Making small changes that can improve your health An important point we encountered repeatedly in reviewing the research was that even small dietary changes could meaningfully lower peoples chronic disease risks. For example, consuming just 10% fewer calories per day from highly processed foods could lower the risk of diabetes by 14%, according to one of the lead studies we relied on for the evidence review. Another study showed that eating one less serving of highly processed foods per day lowers the risk of heart disease by 4%. You can achieve that simply by switching from a highly processed packaged bread to one with fewer ingredients or replacing one fast-food meal per week with a simple home-cooked meal. Or, switch your preferred brands of daily staples such as tomato sauce, yogurt, salad dressing, crackers and nut butter to ones that have fewer ingredients like added sugars, sweeteners, emulsifiers and preservatives. Cutting down on sugary beveragesfor example, soda, sweet teas, juices and energy drinkshad an equally dramatic effect. Simply drinking the equivalent of one can less per day lowers the risk of diabetes by 26% and the risk of heart disease by 14%. And eating just one additional serving of whole grains per daysay, replacing packaged bread with whole grain breadresults in an 18% lower risk of diabetes and a 13% lower risk of death from all causes combined. How to adopt kitchen processing Another way to make these improvements is to take basic elements of food processing back from manufacturers and return them to your own kitchen what I call kitchen processing. Humans have always processed food by chopping, cooking, fermenting, drying or freezing. The problem with highly processed foods isnt just the industrial processing that transforms the chemical structure of natural ingredients, but also what chemicals are added to improve taste and shelf life. Kitchen processing, though, can instead be optimized for health and for your households flavor preferencesand you can easily do it without cooking from scratch. Here are some simple examples: Instead of flavored yogurts, buy plain yogurt and add your favorite fruit or some homemade simple fruit compote. Instead of sugary or diet beverages, use a squeeze of citrus or even a splash of juice to flavor plain sparkling water. Start with a plain whole grain breakfast cereal and add your own favorite source of fiber and/or fruit. Instead of packaged energy bars make your own preferred mixture of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Instead of bottled salad dressing, make a simple one at home with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, a dab of mustard and other flavorings of choice, such as garlic, herbs, or honey. You can adapt this way of thinking to the foods you eat most often by making similar types of swaps. They may seem small, but they will build over time and have an outsized effect on your health. Michael I Goran is a professor of pediatrics and a vice chair for research at the University of Southern California. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Its time to become an armchair expert on sports that you only think about every four years. In other words, the 2026 Winter Olympics have arrived. This years competition takes place in two Italian cities, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the surrounding regions. It is not Cortinas first rodeo, as the city hosted previously in 1956, while the country of Italy has hosted the games three times prior. The action kicked off on Wednesday, February 4, when the worlds best alpine skiers and curlers strutted their stuff. Despite the curling, the official Olympic Opening Ceremony takes place today (Friday, February 6). Heres everything you need to know so you can comfortably coach the players from your couch. Who is the creative force behind the opening ceremony? Host countries take the duty of putting on a spectacular opening ceremony very seriously. This also means most of the specific details are kept secret until showtime. This year is no exception to the rule. Many creatives have collaborated to create the opening ceremonies. Balich Wonder Studio is producing and Maria Laura Iascone serves as the director of ceremonies for the Milano Cortina Foundation organizing committee. While he cant get into specifics, creative director Marco Balich explained to Reuters that the theme of the evening is the Greek concept of harmony and, of course, celebrating the host country of Italy. We want to show that Italy, though small, has influenced global habits through design, fashion and food,” he mused. A rendering of an Olympic cauldron. [Image: IOC] Audiences should be prepared for a big spectacle, spread out for the first time across multiple locations. The main action will take place at Milans historic San Siro Stadium with simultaneous events taking place at Predazzo, Livigno, and Cortina dAmpezzo. At the conclusion, two Olympic cauldrons will be ignited at the Arco della Pace in Milan and in Piazza Dibona in Cortina dAmpezzo. Who is performing at the opening ceremony? A cast of 1,200 volunteer performers, ages ranging from 10 to 70from 27 different countrieswill take the stage. These performers will don 1,400 different costumes and utilize around 1,000 props. Beyond the volunteers, world-famous musicians and actors will lead their talents to the big event. Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli are scheduled to perform. Additionally, The White Lotuss Sabrina Impacciatore, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, and Italian singer Laura Pausini will do their thing. Lets not forget Italian actor and film producer Pierfrancesco Favino and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. The Law According to Lydia Poets Matilde De Angelis will narrate the action. How can I watch or stream the Olympic Opening Ceremony? To see this technological marvel and cheer on your favorite athlete, all you have to do is tune into NBC, the official channel for all things Olympics. If you have traditional cable, you’re all set. Cable subscribers can also watch the action on NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app, or the NBC Sports app. And remember you can watch NBC for free with an over-the-air antenna, you are set. You can also watch the ceremony on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service. If Peacock is not in your streaming arsenal, consider a live-TV streaming service that carries NBC, such as YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, or Fubo. Be sure to double-check regional differences before committing to a new monthly charge, as coverage varies. What time does the ceremony begin? The event takes place at 2 p.m. ET. If you’re stuck at work and can’t watch, never fear. NBC and Peacock will re-air the ceremony for a special prime-time event at 8 p.m. ET.
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The price of Bitcoin has declined dramatically in recent weeks, and cryptocurrency investors are more fearful than ever. In the past 24 hours, the crypto king dipped to the $60,000 rangea low it has not seen since October 2024. While Bitcoin has now recovered slightly to around $66,000, many analysts and investors still think the token may not have bottomed out yet. Heres what you need to know about Bitcoin’s continued fall, and how low things might go. Why is Bitcoin falling? Like most cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) has been steadily falling almost since the year began. As Fast Company previously reported, there were two main drivers for this fall. The first is increased geopolitical uncertainty. Since the year began, America attacked Venezuela, threatened to take Greenland by force from one of its most important European allies, and is now in a standoff with Iran. Military conflict almost always affects markets, but until it happens, no one can predict by how much or in what direction. That uncertainty generally leads investors to pull their money from relatively risky assets, like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and park it in safe havens, like gold or the U.S. dollar (USD). The second recent driver was President Trumps announcement, in late January, the he has selected Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. The news caused the U.S. dollar to spike, making it more valuable. And since cryptocurrencies are priced in dollars, the same amount of dollars could buy more crypto, thereby impacting the value of the digital tokens. In recent days, other factors have pushed Bitcoin down to levels not seen in well over a year. Those factors include a bearish run in tech stocks. When tech stocks decline, crypto tends to follow suit. Additionally, there have been significant forced liquidations of Bitcoin in recent days. These selloffs happen automatically when Bitcoin hits a certain price level. These automated selloffs can prompt other investors to sell their shares, too, before the price drops any further. In short, Bitcoin isnt dropping for any one reason. There are numerous factors working against it right now. Bitcoin isnt the only cryptocurrency that is falling Without a doubt, Bitcoin is having a bad day. Over the past 24 hours, the token fell as low as $60,074.80. That represented a more than 50% decline from its all-time high of $126,198.07 in October. At its current price of around $66,378, Bitcoin has now lost more than 42% of its value in the past six months alone. But Bitcoin isnt the only crypto that has suffered a major crash. As Fast Company reported yesterday, XRP has been getting hammered as of late. In the past six months, the popular token has lost more than 54% of its value. Other popular tokens, including Ethereum, BNB, and Solana, have also seen incredible drops during the same period. Crypto greed and fear index hits all-time low In the wake of this recent crypto crash, it should be no surprise that the majority of cryptocurrency investors are experiencing significant dread at this time. Indeed, CoinMarketCaps Crypto Fear and Greed Index has now reached an all-time low. The index measures investor sentiment in the crypto market. An index value of 80-100 indicates that investors are experiencing extreme greed, which often manifests as surging crypto prices. Meanwhile, 60-80 represents greed, 40-60 neutral, and 20-40 fear. Today, the index has fallen to 5 on the scale, which puts it in the 0-20 range, which means investors are experiencing extreme fear. A rating of 5 is an all-time low for the index, and is 50% lower than its previous all-time low of 10 during a crypto selloff in November 2025. Where is the bottom for Bitcoin? While no one can predict what Bitcoin or any asset will do in the future, what everyone wants to know now is whether Bitcoin has hit its floor or if things are going to get worse. Crypto-watchers with more positive inclinations might point out that while Bitcoin fell to the $60,000 range in the past 24 hours, it did not fall through that barrier. And the coin has now recovered about 10% of its 24-hour low. Bitcoin is currently trading at $66,378 at the time of this writing. However, there are plenty of analysts who think Bitcoin may not have hit the bottom yet. On February 1, Galaxy Asset Management sent a memo to investors warning that the token could trade in the $56,000 to $58,000 in the near term. Meanwhile, 10x Researchs CEO, Markus Thielen, today told CNBC International that Bitcoin could drop to as low as $50,000. If thats the case, todays fall is far from the bottom for Bitcoin.
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