Food and diet-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some types of cancer pose a major public health problem. Today, more than half of adults have one or more diet-related chronic diseases.How do we know whether what we are eating is medicine or is toxic and leading to chronic diseases.  To address this question the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) was set by The U.S Federal government to provide dietary advice for the public for more than 100 years.In 1977, after years of discussion, scientific review, and debate, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, led by Senator George McGovern, released Dietary Goals for the United States. The Dietary Goals recommended:To avoid overweight, consume only as much energy as is expended; if overweight, decrease energy intake and increase energy expenditure.Increase the consumption of complex carbohydrates and “naturally occurring” sugars from about 28 percent of intake to about 48 percent of energy intake.Reduce the consumption of refined and processed sugars by about 45 percent to account for about 10 percent of total energy intake.Reduce overall fat consumption from approximately 40 percent to about 30 percent of energy intake.n 1980, the first publication of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released. Since then, the Dietary Guidelines have become the cornerstone of Federal food and nutrition guidance. Who sets the guidelines and do they have any conflicts of interest. This was the question asked by Dr Paulo Serodio who has a PhD in Political Economy from the University of Essex and held research positions at Northeastern University (Boston, USA), University of Oxford (Oxford, UK) and University of Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain).  His vast research experience is in network science, econometrics, data analysis, text analysis and machine learning. The 2020-2025 Guidelines are centred around the philosophy of  Make every bite count and it is up to the individual to make healthy food and beverage choices.The guidelines matter as they set the tone for global nutrition recommendations. From the DGA website:"The guidelines aims are on disease prevention and health promotion, the information in the Dietary Guidelines is used to develop Federal food, nutrition, and health policies and programs. It also serves as the basis for nutrition education materials designed for the public and for the nutrition education components of the USDA and HHS food programs. State and local governments, schools, the food industry, other businesses, community groups, and media also use Dietary Guidelines information to develop programs, policies, and communication for the general public. Nutrition and health professionals are encouraged to promote the Dietary Guidelines as a means of helping Americans to focus on eating a healthful diet and being physically active at each life stage. A fundamental premise of the 2020- 2025 Dietary Guidelines is that just about everyone, no matter their health status, can benefit from shifting food and beverage choices to better support healthy dietary patterns."It also is the basis for Federal nutrition education materials designed for the public and for the nutrition education components of USDA and HHS nutrition programs. State and local governments, schools, the food industry, other businesses, community groups, and media also use Dietary Guidelines information to develop programs, policies, and communication for the general public. The aim of the Dietary Guidelines is to promote health and prevent disease."Support the showLearn more at www.profselenabartlett.com