MAHA says red meat and beef tallow will make you healthy. The American Heart Association isn't buying it

Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times on Mar 31, 2026

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In an earlier era, the American Heart Association and the U.S. federal government were very closely aligned on what the American public should eat and why.

Dietary guidelines from the cardiovascular research nonprofit largely mirrored those published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. American Heart Association representatives advised the government on the science behind its dietary advice.

But as is the case with many public health issues these days, the distance between the policies recommended by established medical groups and those endorsed by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be growing wider.

On Tuesday, American Heart Association released its updated guidelines for a heart-healthy diet. Like the new federal dietary guidelines released back in January, the document cautions against processed foods and refined sugars.

But the group pressed back on some nutrition claims that Kennedy and Make America Healthy Again influencers have touted in public statements and written into federal policy.

Unlike the new federally authorized inverted food pyramid, which gives top billing to an enormous cut of steak, a tray of ground meat, a hunk of cheese and carton of whole milk, the American Heart Association urges plant-based proteins over red meat, and low- or nonfat dairy products over whole-fat options.

In contrast to Kennedy’s declaration in January that the U.S. was “ending the war on saturated fat,” the heart association continues to recommend unsaturated fat sources over saturated ones for the sake of cardiovascular health.

The heart association also pushes back on Kennedy’s well-publicized passion for beef tallow as a replacement for seed oils, which he has accused (despite shaky evidence) of “poisoning” Americans.

“Animal fats (eg, beef tallow and butter) and tropical oils (eg, coconut oil, cocoa butter, and palm oil) are relatively high in saturated fat, whereas nontropical plant oils (eg, soybean, canola, and olive oils) are relatively high in unsaturated fat,” the American Heart Association paper reads. “In summary, as part of heart-healthy dietary patterns, nontropical plant sources of fat should be used as part of food preparation in place of animal fats and tropical oils.”

In response to questions, both the American Heart Association and Department of Health and Human Services emphasized their shared objectives over any differences.

“The American Heart Association’s (paper) is aligned with the Dietary Guidelines on the major issues: eat real food, avoid highly processed food, and limit refined grains and added sugar,” said Andrew Nixon, a health department spokesman. “We look forward to working collaboratively with the (American Heart Association) to evangelize these core principles and reverse the diet-related chronic disease epidemic.”

The heart association and the federal government have different purposes when drafting their recommendations, said Dr. Simin Liu, director of the University of California, Irvine’s Center for Global Cardiometabolic Health & Nutrition and a professor at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.

The heart association’s guidelines are intended to reflect the best available evidence on nutrition and cardiovascular health outcomes, whereas federal nutrition standards inform the content of federally funded meals served in schools, hospitals and military dining facilities, and help determine foods included under assistance plans like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The two sets of guidelines aren’t totally at odds. The heart association applauded the government’s warnings against added sugars, refined grains and processed foods in January, noting that the advice aligns with the organization’s long-standing recommendations.

“Those of us in the field have been pushing for food-based dietary recommendations, like advocating people eat actual foods instead of (processed) food products,” Liu said, but “the focus on animal product consumption is a bit off the mark.”

The administration’s hearty endorsement of animal protein sources surprised many health groups, as a diet rich in red meat is strongly associated with poorer cardiovascular health.

A supplemental report published alongside the federal guidelines noted that several members of the government’s advisory panel had financial ties to meat and dairy industry groups, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Pork Board and the California Dairy Research Foundation.

The heart association’s guidelines better reflect the current scientific consensus on the relationship between food and cardiovascular health, said a spokesperson for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, and “will be a valuable resource for anyone who was confused by the mixed messages” in the government’s earlier advice.