The United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Health and Human Services update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years. These guidelines serve as a source of guidance to inform food and nutrition programs and initiatives. They also support the development of science-based nutrition education messages and consumer materials for the general public.  Tune into this episode to learn about: the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee process and scientific report what aspects were new or different in this year’s report what the report addressed regarding nutrient density, protein quality, added sugars, alcohol and eating frequency how the pandemic might affect food and nutrition habits insight on how to improve the research process and how to put the research into practice Dr. Heather J. Leidy, MS, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Pediatrics-Dell Medical School. She also serves as the Director of the Research Interest Groups through the American Society of Nutrition and as a member of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. This episode is a sponsored collaboration with "Beef. It's What's for Dinner." on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, and we thank them for their sponsorship and support of the podcast. Full shownotes and links to resources at www.SoundBitesRD.com/167