The new food pyramid has been flipped on its head, with HHS officials releasing guidance that prioritizes meat, dairy and vegetables and pushes whole grains to the bottom.

Dr. Ben Carson, USDA's national advisor for nutrition, health and housing, told Fox News Digital in an interview that dietary guidelines were first proposed in 1980 to inform Americans about healthy eating.

"[The purpose] was to educate the populace about nutrient-rich foods … the things that are helpful to you, the things that are harmful to you. Over the course of time, [we] deviated from those goals," Carson said. "And [we] started rubber-stamping all of these highly processed foods, these quick things. It has not been good for us."

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"You are what you eat," Carson said, sharing that Americans should think of their bodies as high-performance vehicles.

"You're going to put premium gasoline in it, because you want premium performance," he said. "If you decide to dilute it, it’s not going to go as far or as fast."

Carson also used the car-fueling example to address those who claim that eating healthy foods is too expensive.

"Maybe the premium gasoline costs a little bit more, but how much does it cost down the road when you have to replace the engine, when you haven't put the right things into it?" he said. "So we're really trying to bring some logic and common sense back."

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The new guidelines promote protein, dairy and healthy fats, recommending a daily protein target of about 0.54-0.73 grams per pound of body weight.

About 16 to 20 million people, or 4% to 6% of Americans, identify as vegetarians and vegans who eat only plant-based foods, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group.

Carson admitted that he "seldom" eats meat himself and believes he is "reasonably healthy."

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For those concerned the new guidance might lead Americans to eat too much red meat, Carson said, "Instead of thinking about it as too much red meat, let's look at the overall recommendation — and that is that you eat 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. Now, how you get that protein doesn't matter. If it's drinking milk, if it's eating cheese — as long as you maintain high-performance fuel for your engine."

The nutrition advisor pointed to "blue zones," the regions with exceptionally long-lived populations known for a focus on plant-based diets. 

"Some people say, you see these skinny people because they're vegetarians. Have you ever seen a skinny elephant? You know they're vegetarian," said Carson.

While the updated dietary guidelines emphasize whole, nutrient-dense foods, Carson cautioned against relying solely on GLP-1s like Ozempic for weight loss.

"All these artificial methods don't last a very long time. You have to keep taking them, and they're expensive," he said.

About one in eight American adults, roughly 12%, have used GLP-1 drugs for obesity and diabetes, with around 6% currently taking them as they rise in popularity, as Fox News Digital previously reported.

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"It's not just a matter of what you eat. It's a matter of how many calories you burn," Carson added. "If you have more calories going out than you're taking in, you're going to lose weight."