FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Beans, peas and lentils take center stage in newly proposed changes to dietary guidelines for Americans.

In a report released this week by an advisory committee to the Agriculture Department, experts suggest that the protein-packed legumes are the perfect substitute for red or processed meat. They came to that conclusion after analyzing scientific evidence on the topic.

If adopted, the new guidelines would emphasize plant-based proteins and also encourage people to eat more whole grains and less sugary drinks, salt and all processed foods.

"Compelling evidence was noted in the systematic reviews in which dietary patterns that had higher levels of beans, peas and lentils [often presented in the literature as “legumes”] were associated with beneficial health outcomes," the report stated.

Meanwhile, "systematic review evidence also consistently indicated that dietary patterns with higher intakes of red and processed meats were related to detrimental health consequences, whereas dietary patterns with higher intakes of fish and seafood were related to beneficial health outcomes."

Why the big push for legumes?

"There’s strong evidence to suggest that a dietary pattern that is high in beans, peas and lentils is associated with lower chronic disease risk,” Angela Odoms-Young, vice chair of the advisory committee and a professor of maternal and child nutrition at Cornell University, told NBC News.

How far did the committee go in endorsing beans, peas and lentils?

Under the existing dietary guidelines, the trio of vegetables are categorized as both vegetables and protein foods, but the committee recommended removing them from the vegetable group and putting them at the top of the list of protein-heavy foods. Why? To encourage people to eat more plant-based protein.

The updated guidelines take into account numerous published studies on long-term links between meat-based diets and chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and cutting back on meat and upping consumption of legumes could help counter that trend, Odoms-Young said.

"That's not saying that you can't eat animal protein, but how do you have a diet where you can increase the amount of plant-based protein in the diet," she said.

The report also recommends that people cut down on sweetened drinks and salt while increasing their whole grain intake to make up 50% of all grains eaten.

The report has been submitted to the Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human Services for review, and a 60-day public comment period is underway. If enacted, they would take effect next year and last until 2030.

"When we look at the evidence around how those things impact people's health, we see that the major diseases, chronic diseases, that are responsible for preventable deaths are linked to those excess consumptions [of unhealthy foods]," advisory committee member Cheryl Anderson, dean of the University of California, San Diego’s Herbert Wertman School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, told NBC News.

In crafting the proposed changes, the committee members said they weighed how to factor in differences in both socioeconomic status and access to grocery stores.

"We are making these recommendations with the hope that no matter where people live, learn, work, play or pray, they would be able to follow the guidance," Anderson said.

More information

The USDA has more on healthy eating.

SOURCE: Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Dec. 10, 2024