Upside Down Is Now The Right Way Up

There’s a new food pyramid, and it’s upside down. On Jan 7th, 2026, America announced a radical revision to the way people are supposed to eat to be healthy.

For decades, we were taught to fear fat, curb protein and build our diets around carbohydrates. This idea, first introduced in 1980 (it morphed into the well-known Food Pyramid in 1992), has shaped nutritional curricula, school lunches and public health messaging since. Indeed, it has shaped popular culture. Now, in one momentous shift, that entire model has been turned on its head.

Here is what the new, inverted pyramid looks like:

So, what are the key changes and what do they mean?

The new food pyramid signals more than a visual redesign - it represents a fundamental correction in how we understand nutrition, metabolism and health. 

Though controversial in many circles (how could such a radical change not be?), it acknowledges what many clinicians, researchers and consumers have been observing for years: that macros matter more than calories. (macros refer to macro-nutrients, or the things we humans need in large quantities – fat, protein and carbohydrates). 

Taking a step back, the "big message" is for people to dramatically reduce sugar and processed food. But, that's just the tip of the ice-berg. What counts as much is getting adequate protein, MORE healthy fats and LESS carbohydrates. For the first time in history, we have guidelines that make scientific sense. Well, almost.

It’s protein’s time to shine

Eating protein has been a popular trend for a while. We even have protein water now. At long last, it’s now official. Look carefully at the upside-down pyramid and you’ll notice meat, chicken, fish, full fat dairy, cheese and eggs near the TOP. There is even a prawn! The cholesterol police will be horrified.

What’s super-important is that these aren’t just any proteins. They are animal proteins that have long been shunned. Why would they form such a big part of our diet? Because protein from animal sources is complete and comes with many other valuable micro-nutrients. Plant proteins lack the full spectrum of amino acids and some other critical nutrients, such as B12, D3, heme iron and DHA, an important omega 3 fatty acid. And, some plant nutrients, such as Vitamin A, are far less bio-available – they don’t convert well to their usable form.

For years, protein, especially animal protein, was treated cautiously, even suspiciously, despite its essential role in muscle maintenance, immune function, hormonal health, satiety, and metabolic stability. The revised guidelines effectively double down on protein’s importance, reflecting mounting evidence that most people, especially as they age, are under-consuming it.

Fat is in

The new guideline emphasises fat. That is clear from the food icons used. After all, meat, oily fish, chicken (a full chicken, not a lean breast), eggs and whole milk aren’t just protein-laden foods. They come with fat as well, much of it from the old arch enemy - saturated fat.

Tellingly, the jar of oil symbolises olive oil. The implication is that seed oils (which are highly processed and, according to many critics, inflammatory) are out and olive oil, which is minimally processed, is in. To be fair, olive oil has always been in, so it’s the absence of seed oils that’s a big change. Avocados, which contain healthy plant fats, have made their way in. And then there’s butter, a high fat animal product that hasn’t seen the light of day in food guidelines for a very long time. These are profound changes.

Dietary fat is no longer the villain. Instead, the focus has shifted to excess sugar and refined carbohydrates, finally. You’ll notice that rice, bread and oats are now near the tip of the pyramid, instead of forming the large base, where they used to be. Sugar isn’t present at all. Over-consumption of sugar, starch and refined carbs is firmly implicated as the main driver of insulin resistance, weight gain, inflammation and chronic disease.

This reframing aligns with what many health professionals have observed clinically: people do not become metabolically unhealthy because they eat eggs, butter and meat but rather because they consume too much processed food, too often. And, along with that, too much, sugar, refined oil and refined carbohydrates. Bread is out. Eggs are in. Robert Atkins would be smiling. Treating fat as something to restrict is a legacy idea that no longer aligns with metabolic reality.

The cap on saturated fat is a glaring anomaly 

While the inverted pyramid clearly sanctions saturated fat, judging from all the animal products near the top, the wording of the new guidelines curiously limits saturated fat to 10% of all calories consumed. This exposes a blatant contradiction, over which there has been heated debate. How can one consume all the products listed near the top and remain under the 10% cap for saturated fat? Well, you can’t. And the guidelines provide no resolution. 

Either you ignore the icons in the diagram, or you ignore the cap on saturated fat. You can’t comply with both. Most experts we trust suggest loosening up on saturated fat. If you follow the icons, you won’t get passed lunch without exceeding the cap.

 To provide more comfort to those concerned about saturated fat, in 2020, a high-powered initiative between Swiss Re (the biggest reinsurance company in the world) and the British Journal of Medicine, containing a large panel of nutrition experts, evaluated and debated the science of what we eat. Many issues were not resolved, but they did conclude that the long-standing recommendation to cap saturated fat “is not supported by rigorous, modern evidence”. Forget the politically correct wording. What they mean is: saturated fat should never have been curbed to begin with. It was a mistake. In our view, it’s time to move on. Follow the icons, not the wording.  

Fruit and vegetables are not equal

 Fruit and vegetables have long been lumped in the same category. Now, for the first time, the historical “five-portions-a-day” message has been refined to three servings of vegetables and two of fruit, with vegetables taking priority. This isn’t about demonising fruit but rather acknowledging the extra sugar load that comes with many fruits.

Lower-sugar fruits such as apples and berries are favoured over higher-sugar options like bananas and grapes, particularly for individuals managing blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. This nuance matters. Less pineapple, more orange.

What about salt?

Salt has its own specific guideline. For years, this has been a maximum of 2.3g of sodium per day, for adults. Note that sodium doesn’t equal salt. 2.3g of sodium is 5.8g of salt.

What do the new guidelines say about salt? Unfortunately, nothing has changed. The cap remains. We have written extensively about the salt guidelines, and why we believe the “sweet spot” for healthy people is 5g of sodium (13.8g of salt) per day. 

The scientific evidence and clinical experience point squarely at this level. It’s important to note that the 5g does not include sodium replacement from exercise or activities like sauna. We lose a lot of sodium through sweat, as many people know. For a full review, see our blog titled, Is Salt Bad For You?

Why haven’t the new guidelines been updated? We can only speculate. Because of the complicated web of vested interests and substantial opposition, the political wrangling needed to make radical changes in the guidelines is immense. Not every battle can be won. We regard salt and saturated fat as the sacrificial lambs, if you’ll excuse the pun. Until next time, perhaps.

The real win is real food

Surely the most important shift is not what moved up or down but rather what moved out. Ultra-processed foods have no place in the updated model. The emphasis is firmly on food that looks like food: meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, dairy, natural fats and less refined starches and grains. In fact, the new government website that houses the guidelines is called https://realfood.gov. The message is clear: eat food that your body recognises, digests, and uses properly. The stuff your grandmother ate.

The bottom line: we love it. Aside from the saturated fat anomaly and the cap on salt, we love the bold moves. The new pyramid simplifies nutrition in a way that decades of dietary dogma didn’t. Expect fewer labels, fewer ingredients and less manipulation. But, like all guidelines, they will take decades to filter down and take hold, and it remains unclear whether other countries will follow suit. Historically, the world has taken its cue from the USA. Will it still? We hope so, because these new guidelines give health a fighting chance.

REVIVE is a hydration company. So why are we writing about food?

REVIVE is a single-product brand, focusing solely on electrolytes with physiological levels of the essential minerals our bodies need to hydrate properly. REVIVE contains no sugar, preservatives or unnecessary additives. For years, all hydration products contained sugar, one of the reasons our brand was started. 

What isn’t well known is that hydration plays a critical role in health. Why, and how? Because people eating real food, low sugar, lowish carb diets NEED electrolytes and they need more water. In other words, they should hydrate deliberately, as opposed to people eating an unhealthy diet, who don’t. This is why our product looks like it does (with higher sodium, enough magnesium and no sugar) and has become popular. 

People who intermittent fast - another popular, healthy practice, that often accompanies a healthy diet - also need electrolytes, daily. And electrolytes for fasting shouldn’t contain calories, carbohydrates or unnecessary additives.

Without the right kind of electrolytes, people eating a real food diet and fasting don’t feel their best. They are prone to headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, brain fog and other similar symptoms. As soon as they start using good quality electrolytes, these symptoms disappear. It’s a simple remedy for a big problem. And when someone feels good, they are more likely to succeed with their health regime.

Our DNA, and the DNA of our product, is rooted in health. And now, for the first time in history, a real food, low sugar, lowish carb diet is official. When REVIVE was born, we hoped, but never quite believed, that this would happen.