The science behind the new dietary guidelines report

What should we eat to be healthy — and to stay that way?

More fruits and vegetables. Less red and processed meat. Whole grains instead of refined. Nonfat dairy foods, legumes, nuts, and seafood. Fewer foods with added sugars or high levels of saturated fat and sodium.

And foods with cholesterol, like eggs — long seen as unhealthy — are now considered OK. That’s because recent research shows only a weak link between cholesterol in the diet and blood cholesterol, and moderate egg consumption—up to one egg a day — is not associated with heart disease among healthy people.

These are some of the main recommendations from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), which last week issued a report on how food, nutrition, and physical activity can promote the health of the U.S. population.

Many of the DGAC committee members came together, both in-person and via a live webcast, at a February 25, 2015 symposium at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Presenters included Harvard Chan’s Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, and committee chair Barbara Millen, former professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and now president of public health startup Millennium Prevention. The event, held at Kresge’s Snyder Auditorium, also drew hundreds of online viewers.