If you’ve felt overwhelmed, confused, or quietly defeated by nutrition advice lately, I see you. I hear you. There is a lot of noise, and not a lot of evidence-based recommendations. And as you may have heard, our administration released the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) last week, launching us further into nutrition dubiety.
As registered dietitian Anna Sweeney put it so succinctly in today’s episode:
“Eating in 2026 is a shit show. The messaging is exhausting, and it’s not science.”
Anna joins me for a conversation that compassionately—but firmly—pushes back on the loudest food narratives we’re swimming in right now:
Carb confusion.
Protein hype.
Processed foods.
“Good” fats (ahem, beef tallow?).
“Real food.”
All the rules that somehow keep multiplying while people feel worse, not better.
We talk about the newly released dietary guidelines, yes, but most importantly: what they miss, and how this kind of messaging lands on real humans—especially disabled folks, people with eating disorders, parents, and anyone just trying to get fed without turning every meal into a moral test.
This episode bumped a previously scheduled release. The guidelines dropped last week, and it felt important—urgent, honestly—to address what’s being said, what’s being implied, and who is being left out of the conversation right now. So I worked a bit over the weekend to get this out to you.
Most of this episode lives behind the paywall. I promise, not as a tease or a cliffhanger—but because paid subscriptions are what make this podcast possible. They’re what allow me to research, record, edit, write, host, and keep showing up with care and rigor instead of clickbait. My goal is to keep as much content free, but that’s only possible if enough folks are supporting at the paid level.
So, shameless plug: Upgrading is deeply appreciated, and I’m extending the 25% discount on subscriptions this week in case you’d like to take advantage.
Behind the paywall in this episode, we get into:
What's inside the new dietary guidelines (and what’s left out)
Why “clickable nutrition advice” is fueling misinformation on social media
How to think about accessible foods in our everyday eating
The elitism and harm of “real food”
Chronic disease and processed foods
The latest protein recommendations and the focus on meat
The moral panic around carbohydrates, seed oils, sugar, and grains
The science behind carbohydrates and our physiology
Why individual responsibility is overemphasized—and social determinants of health are ignored
The missing role of pleasure in conversations about health
A powerful closing message about body trust and grief
What I appreciate most about this conversation is how consistently it returns to what nutrition discourse so often ignores: access, capacity, pleasure, and real care. Anna brings both clinical depth and lived experience as a chronically ill and disabled dietitian, and it shapes every part of the discussion.
At its heart, this episode is an invitation to let go of the myth of perfect eating (it truly does not exist). It’s about realistic, evidence-based, humane eating—food choices that work in actual bodies, in real lives, under real constraints.
If nutrition advice has started to feel louder but less supportive, I hope this conversation lets your shoulders drop just a bit. And maybe—just maybe!—helps you put carbs on your plate without fear or apology (your brain sends its thanks).
You can listen right here, or wherever you get your podcasts. xo
Paid subscribers are invited to join the conversation in the comments on this one!
What would you like me to unpack next from these guidelines?
Where are you feeling most stuck with food right now?
And truly—how are you?
