On January 7, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) released updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) for 2025-2030, removing any specific guidance on alcohol consumption. The updated guidelines instead advise that people should “consume less alcohol for better overall health” and “limit beverages,” without recommending clear limits. The guidelines also outline broad, incomplete categories of people that should “completely avoid alcohol” or be “mindful of alcohol consumption.”
The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) expresses deep concern that the revised DGA omit specific guidance related to alcohol consumption. Earlier editions of the DGA provided clear daily limits for alcohol consumption based on available evidence. In contrast, the 2025–2030 guidelines do not establish any daily limits and do not account for biological differences in alcohol metabolism between men and women.
While AASLD agrees that broadly consuming less alcohol supports better overall health, the American public deserves clear recommendations based on the best available evidence to guide their consumption choices. These guidelines fall short in this respect and deny Americans evidence-based recommendations to make healthy choices.
In 1990, the DGA recommendations were updated to distinguish alcohol consumption limits for men and women. These daily limits were based on data showing that alcohol consumption of more than two drinks per day for men and more than one for women has significant impacts on health. Recent research examining limits on alcohol consumption includes data showing that the previous DGA limits may need to be lowered.
Additionally, the updated guidelines are silent on the link between alcohol and cancer. Twenty-five years ago, the guidelines first warned that alcohol increased the risk of breast cancer. Since that warning, alcohol research has shown a link between alcohol and at least seven types of cancer. The 2025 U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk highlighted that alcohol use is a “leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States,” noting that it contributes to “nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year.”
AASLD will continue to educate the public about the impact of alcohol consumption on liver health and other potential side effects, including pancreatitis, dementia, other tissue damage, cancer in the liver and in the rest of the body, cardiovascular disease, and social injuries such as motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, family disruption, and loss of mental health, despite these changes.
AASLD urges the administration to revisit its guidance on alcohol and restore clear, evidence-based recommendations so individuals have the tools they need to make informed decisions about alcohol and its impact on their overall health.