A first-of-its-kind food pyramid from a group of international nutritionists has been released – and counters the Trump administration’s recommendations for a healthy diet.
The new guidance, devised by 22 leading nutritionists from Europe, Canada, the U.S. and Australia, echoes the traditional food pyramid that has been used in the U.S. for decades by advising on daily food groups and portion sizes.
The new food pyramid, endorsed by global experts on carbohydrates, breaks from the Trump administration’s updated nutritional guidelines which follow Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s “MAHA” agenda and prioritize red meat above plants.
Instead, the new pyramid emphasizes plant-based protein sources, cooking with plant-based oils and healthier sugars and carbohydrates.
“When you’re designing a meal, start by thinking about the plant foods you want to emphasize,” Brigham Young University nutritional scientist Karen Della Corte explained. “What vegetables, whole or lower-GI grains, beans or lentils could you include?”
Decades of research has shown that regularly eating red meat – which is high in saturated fats that raises cholesterol levels – is tied to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and premature death.
In another break with the Trump administration’s denial of climate change, the researchers acknowledge the heavy impact of the livestock industry in worsening the carbon and methane emissions that are driving up global temperatures.
“Our diet has to be not only for our own health but also for the health of our planet,” co-author David Jenkins, a professor at the University of Toronto and creator of the Glycemic Index, said. “Our science base has to be appropriately comprehensive to include that.”
The pyramid also recommends keeping sugar intake below 10 percent of a person’s total calories, in line with former U.S. guidance. The Trump administration changed the guidance this year to instruct people to have no more than 10 grams of added sugar per meal, in an effort to make it easier to understand.
Like carbohydrates, not all sugar sources are made equal. Sugary drinks are particularly of concern, the scientists noted. Substitute with sugar-free sparkling water or just plain water, the group advises.
The new pyramid also says canola or olive oil should be used instead of animal fats such as butter or tallow for cooking. Beans, peas, lentils, fish, poultry or yogurt should be eaten as sources of protein more often than red and processed meats.
But these changes won’t be easy for everyone to make, the scientists acknowledge, particularly with soaring food costs around the world.
“We need food environments that make it easy to put the pyramid’s recommendations into practice,” co-author Anette Buyken, professor at Germany’s Paderborn University, said. “Knowing what is healthy and being motivated to eat healthily is not enough when these choices are difficult or expensive.”

There’s nothing cuter than witnessing a big fur baby giving their owner the most affectionate hug. This Instagram video captured a charming Golden Retriever dog named Goose absolutely needing his morning cuddles, even if it meant that he had to become his human parent’s entire workout routine.
On October 29, the owner of the dog took to Instagram to post the video through the account @gooseandhisadventures. Since then, it has begun to attract considerable attention from viewers across the globe. As of now, the clip has garnered more than 2K likes on Instagram.
Golden Retriever proves that being a big boy doesn’t mean outgrowing cuddles
A heart-melting video of Goose on Instagram proves that being a big boy doesn’t mean outgrowing cuddles with his human parent. The video has been winning hearts all over social media, as people can’t resist the fur baby’s undeniable cuteness. In the caption of the post, the owner of the dog wrote, “Just one small polar for morning cuddles.”
The Instagram video started by giving a closer look at Goose, who was in the arms of his human parent. The pet parent was preparing the morning coffee. Meanwhile, the fur baby was enjoying a big cuddle session with the owner. In the meantime, the text written over the clip read, “To everyone asking how heavy is he.” It continued, “He’s just a small baby (32kg of fluff).” As the clip went on, viewers could see the fur baby holding onto the owner in the most adorable way possible while the pet parent tried to do the morning chores. Their cuddling session will melt anyone’s heart.
In the comments section of the video, one fan wrote, “Who needs the gym when you got a retriever on you.” Meanwhile, another admirer’s comment read, “That’s my kind of strength training.” “Perfect morning,” another fan gushed in the comments.

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m an 85-year-old woman. I took the Cologuard test a month ago, and it came back positive. My gastrointestinal doctor said that at my age, he wouldn’t perform a colonoscopy. I asked for other alternatives, and he said that there’s a virtual colonoscopy CT scan. I had soft tissue sarcoma a year ago and have been getting CT scans of my pelvic area and chest. My blood work is all good, as well as my tests. What are your feelings on the CT colon scans? — M.K.
Dear M.K.: I understand why you’re concerned. When a test like Cologuard is positive, there’s a significant risk of colon cancer. The best estimate of your risk of having an advanced polyp now is approximately 38%, and the likelihood that you have actual colon cancer is about 4%.
I do understand why your gastroenterologist is concerned about a colonoscopy. The risk of an adverse event in people who are in their 80s is significantly higher. Both the sarcoma and radiation treatment that you received might increase your specific risk even higher than other people. I will say for my other readers (especially my clinician readers), the person who’s ordering Cologuard should’ve thought carefully about what to do with a positive result before ordering it.
If you’re willing to live with a 4% risk of colon cancer, you can stop where you are. Since you’ve had many CT scans (called a virtual colonography) of your abdomen, including at least one recently, it’s reassuring that you probably don’t have advanced colon cancer. The blood tests likewise give a measure of reassurance but aren’t definitive.
I recommend caution with a virtual CT scan because they’re uncomfortable for many people. Also, if it’s positive, you’re still left unsure as to what to do about it. I’d ask the gastroenterologist whether he’d perform a colonoscopy if the virtual colonography showed a significant concern.
If the answer is still “no,” you should, again, consider no further evaluation; however, if he said that he’d do the colonoscopy with a positive CT scan, then you could decide to get it done. But you should recognize that this decision puts you on a path to a risk of a complication, which is about 1%.
The most-common complication is perforation of the colon, which requires a hospital stay. A 4% risk of cancer is still higher than a 1% risk of perforation. A colonoscopy remains the best way to evaluate for cancer and obtain a biopsy of any suspicious mass or polyp.
It’s also worth considering whether you’d accept surgery if necessary. If you wouldn’t consider surgery to remove colon cancer under any circumstances, then it may not make sense to continue the investigation. However, I’ve seen people with highly advanced cancer that’s incurable by surgery still get recommended for palliative surgery, because an acute obstruction of the bowel by cancer is a terrible outcome.
If you reach an impasse with your current gastroenterologist, meaning you want to proceed with a colonoscopy and he refuses, you have the right to seek a second opinion.Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.

“It’s been a bit of a black box,” said Ana Anderson, a senior author and core faculty member of the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Now we have a research direction. We have a path to follow and hopefully find something that’s really specific to this disease and that will be the basis for developing tailored therapies specifically for young-onset colon cancer.”
In the United States, rates of colorectal cancer among people younger than 50 rose nearly 3 percent each year from 2013 through 2022, according to the American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in that age group.
Researchers have sought explanations for the perplexing rise. A growing body of evidence has linked risk to diet and ultra-processed foods, among other lifestyle and environmental factors. But experts say it’s also important to understand what is happening inside the tumors and bodies of younger patients.
In the new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine, scientists examined 189 tumors from people in their 20s to 90s, including 54 patients who were diagnosed when they were younger than 50. They analyzed more than 850,000 cells. The researchers also looked for factors that changed with age, revealing subtle differences between the younger and older patients studied, said Dr. Kimmie Ng, a senior author and director of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Researchers observed that tumors in younger patients appeared to have a different composition of cells, namely a much higher proportion of connective and supporting cells, known as stromal cells. Studies of other types of solid cancer have linked stromal cells to chemotherapy resistance.
The study also found differences in how genes are expressed in the tumors of younger people — a finding that experts say could lead to new therapeutic targets.
The dataset is the largest to date for colorectal cancer and includes the highest number of young patients, Ng said.
“It gives a huge amount of hope,” she said. “It really serves as a guidepost to where we should direct our future research efforts.”
The new research gives scientists access to large quantities of detailed data, said Dr. John Paul Shen, an associate professor in the department of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“There’s some very clear experiments that we might do in our lab or other people would do in their labs around the world,” said Shen, who was not involved in the study. “That’s hugely valuable.”
But he and other experts noted that the dataset, while expansive in its cellular analysis, is drawn from a limited number of people. Ng said the study’s cohort aligns with what is generally known about young-onset colorectal cancer patients around the world.
Future research could build on the study by analyzing other groups of patients, said Dr. Christina Annunziata, senior vice president of extramural discovery science at the American Cancer Society.
While the new study holds promise for helping researchers discover better ways to prevent and treat colorectal cancer in young people, experts said many breakthroughs may still be a ways off.
Having the dataset, Annunziata said, is “an essential first step.”
“The research is necessary for us to understand why people are getting cancers early and what we can do about it,” she said.

Health officials in Central California have confirmed five cases of E. coli that can cause serious illness and are investigating a possible connection to a popular farm attraction and pumpkin patch in San Luis Obispo County.
The County of San Luis Obispo Public Health Department reported that it identified five cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection. Health officials said the cases may be linked to visits to Brookshire Farms in San Luis Obispo from Oct. 16 to Oct. 26, though investigators have not yet identified the source of the infections.
Public health officials urged anyone who visited the farm during that period and later developed gastrointestinal symptoms to contact a health care provider. Symptoms can include severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting and typically appear three to 10 days after exposure.
“We are working diligently to identify the source of these infections to protect the health of our community,” San Luis Obispo County Health Officer Dr. Christy Mulkerin said in a statement. “We encourage anyone who may have been exposed and is experiencing symptoms consistent with E. coli infection to seek immediate medical attention.”
As the investigation continues, Brookshire Farms has voluntarily closed while county health officials work to determine whether additional community members may be at risk. The farm is known for its corn mazes, pumpkin patches and other fall-themed attractions.
Tom Cuddy, a spokesperson for the county health department, confirmed to The Tribune and SFGate that three children were hospitalized in “serious condition” and were being treated in a pediatric intensive care unit. Children younger than 10 are at the highest risk for complications from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections, health officials said.
USA TODAY reached out to the County of San Luis Obispo Public Health Department for comment.
Brookshire Farm closes for remainder of the pumpkin season
Public health officials said Brookshire Farms is cooperating with the investigation, which includes gathering information from visitors, investigating potential exposures and conducting follow-up activities to determine whether the cases are connected.
Health officials have encouraged people contacted by investigators to provide information that could help identify the source of the infections. The county health department has not determined whether the cases are linked to contaminated food, water, animal contact, or another source.
In a statement on Oct. 28, Brookshire Farms said it would remain closed for the rest of the pumpkin season while awaiting test results from the county health department. The closure comes during the peak fall season, when families typically visit the farm for seasonal activities and attractions.
“Safety is our main concern. We are waiting on the test results from the county health department. Until then, there is nothing to comment on,” the farm said in the statement.
What is Shiga toxin-producing E. coli?
E. coli are bacteria commonly found in the environment, foods, and the intestines of people and animals. While many strains are harmless, some can make people sick through contaminated food or water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, also known as STEC, produces toxins capable of causing severe illness, according to the California Department of Public Health.
“People can get infected with STEC bacteria by eating or drinking something that has been contaminated with animal or human poop, or by accidentally swallowing tiny amounts of poop after having contact with infected animals, animal areas, untreated water, or other people infected with STEC,” the state health department says.
Most people infected with STEC recover without treatment, but some cases can become severe and even life-threatening, according to the state health department. Young children, pregnant people, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems face the highest risk of developing serious illness.
Health officials say STEC infections can be prevented by thoroughly cooking food, choosing pasteurized dairy products, washing hands after using the restroom or touching animals, and avoiding swallowing water while swimming in lakes, rivers, or pools.
An estimated 1 in 10 people diagnosed with STEC develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a potentially life-threatening complication that can cause kidney failure, according to the state health department. Warning signs include decreased urination, extreme fatigue, and loss of color in the cheeks or lower eyelids.