#nutrition-targets

#nutrition-targets

Research increasingly demonstrates that healthy nutrition improves mental health, and an entirely new subspecialty has formed to support this. Nutritional psychiatry is expanding rapidly, with research growing 15-fold from 2000 to 2024, reflecting the increasing acceptance of diet's role in mental health.

These tiny packages pack a nutritional punch-so much so that the advisory committee for the 2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommended upping the daily serving size of legumes and promoting them as a protein source over meat and seafood. Navy beans, for example, are especially fiber-dense, and lentils are protein powerhouses.

Already, 2026 is proving to be a challenging year for global hunger. Last year, the global development sector faced enormous upheavals, with the United States and other donor countries slashing aid budgets even as low-income countries struggled with debt burdens. Steep aid cuts have exacerbated existing food security crises-whether from Russia's war with Ukraine disrupting international food supplies or farmers losing tens of billions of dollars due to climate change.

The contentious decision came as part of a "National Strategy for Food, Nutrition and Climate," setting out the government's aims until 2030 on balancing a healthy diet while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was supposed to be published in 2023, the culmination of a direct-democracy initiative that immediately raised the hackles of agriculture lobbies that accused the government of threatening their livelihoods.

Diet culture norms have led to a multibillion-dollar industry promoting diets that each come with their own set of rules, with each claiming it's the only way to be healthy or lose weight. When access to nutrition information is at an all-time high online, people are often left digging through conflicting information when trying to figure out what to eat or what a healthy diet look likes.

Food trends are changing and evolving constantly, with yesterday's textures, flavors, and ingredients moving aside or inspiring the ones we expect to see in 2026. We expect the upcoming year to be influenced by health trends, as well as politics, and the need for comfort in our food offerings. People's ever-expanding palates and health needs are also colliding with their budgets, but that doesn't mean they plan to sacrifice their food experiences.

The analysis of nearly 500 varieties of tinned and chilled soups sold in supermarkets found that 23% contained too much salt. Of the 481 soups Action on Salt and Sugar (AoSS) tested, nearly half (48%) of branded soups and 6% of supermarket own-brand soups still exceeded the government's voluntary salt target of 0.59g per 100g serving. The saltiest was Soup Head's Tom Yum soup, with 3.03g in a 300g pack more than half an adult's recommended total daily limit and saltier than eating two McDonald's cheeseburgers.