Trump Administration Drops Alcohol Limit Recommendation for Americans. “Allows people to socialize”

President Donald Trump's administration has released new nutrition guidelines that ditch an old recommendation that Americans limit alcohol consumption to two drinks a day for men and just one for women. The new guide only mentions that a lower consumption is healthier, informs Reuters.

The change is contained in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030, the US guide for healthy eating behavior, which is taken into account in the composition of school menus, in the advice given by doctors, etc.

“There's alcohol in the dietary guidelines, but don't have it instead of breakfast,” said Mehmet Oz, a well-known physician who was appointed by Trump as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“At best, I don't think you should drink alcohol, but it allows people to come together and socialize, and there's probably nothing healthier than hanging out with friends in a healthy way,” Oz said, adding that there isn't enough data to recommend a maximum of two drinks a day for men and one for women.

The doctor noted that in certain regions of Greece, Italy and Japan, where people live longer, they drink “very sparingly and usually in a celebratory manner.”

The new guidelines also recommend that Americans eat more protein, less carbohydrates and avoid highly processed foods.

A controversial topic in the US

NGOs for the US Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Center for Science in the Public Interest say the decision will affect public health and could lead to more drinking since Americans will be able to define for themselves what moderate drinking means.

According to the World Health Organization, even moderate alcohol consumption poses health risks, including the occurrence of some types of cancer. In January 2025, before Trump began his second term, then-US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning messages on alcoholic beverages.

A Gallup poll last year found that Americans say they are drinking less than ever, with more than half of those surveyed saying that even moderate drinking is harmful. Weekly per capita alcohol consumption is at its lowest level since the 1990s, even if that's a drop of just one drink a week, according to estimates by liquor market research firm IWSR.

For the first time, alcohol-related advice was analyzed separately from the rest of the nutritional advice, with two separate studies.

The first of them, commissioned by health officials during the Biden administration, concluded that some health risks occur with just one drink a day. Another, commissioned by Congress and endorsed by the alcohol industry, found that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk of death from any cause.

During Donald Trump's first term, health officials rejected scientists' call for stricter guidelines on alcohol consumption.