The specifics of dietary recommendations differ from country to country. From 2005-2025, the US Dietary Guidelines have recommended that all Americans make at least half of their grains whole grains. In 2025, the Guidelines took an even stronger stance on emphasizing whole grains, as detailed below. Click here if you’d like to learn more about other countries’ guidelines.

Grain Recommendations in the 2025-2030 dietary Guidelines for americans

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have a very strong emphasis on whole grains. Whole grains are also depicted at the base of the 2025-2030 Food Pyramid. Specifically, 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans urge Americans to “Focus on Whole Grains” using the following language:

  • Prioritize fiber-rich whole grains. 
  • Significantly reduce the consumption of highly processed, refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options, flour tortillas, and crackers. 
  • Whole grains serving goals: 2–4 servings per day, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements. 

How Many servings of Whole Grains Do You Need Daily?

For adults on a typical 2,000 calorie diet, the the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 2-4 servings of whole grains daily. Unlike previous editions of the Guidelines, the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans does not detail different whole grain recommendation levels for different ages or demographic groups. They do recommend different levels of whole grain intake per calorie level, ranging from 1-2 servings daily for a 1,000 calorie level up to 3 ¼ — 6 ½ servings daily for a 3,200 calorie level. However, they do not offer guidance on which demographic or age groups should adhere to which calorie levels.

Examples of a serving

The U.S. Guidelines define a serving as any of the following amounts:

  • ½ cup cooked oats, brown rice, barley, quinoa, or buckwheat
  • 1 slice bread
  • 1 tortilla

A Look Back at Older Editions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

As in previous editions, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans reiterated the importance of shifting from refined to whole grains and choosing foods with at least 8g of whole grain per serving.

“Choose 100% whole-grain foods for at least half of all grains consumed. The relative amount of whole grain in the food can be inferred by the placement of the grain in the ingredient list. The whole grain should be the first ingredient—or the second ingredient after water. For foods with multiple whole-grain ingredients, they should appear near the beginning of the ingredient list.

Choose products with at least 50 percent of the total weight as whole-grain ingredients. If a food has at least 8 grams of whole grains per ounce-equivalent, then half of the grains are whole-grain ingredients.

Shifting from refined to whole-grain versions of commonly consumed foods—such as from white to 100% whole-wheat breads, and white to brown rice where culturally appropriate—would increase whole-grain intakes and lower refined grain intakes to help meet recommendations.”

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the first edition that includes recommendations for infants and toddlers – a group for whom whole grains are especially important.

Toddlers ages 12 through 23 months who are no longer receiving human milk or infant formula are advised to make upwards of two thirds of their grains whole (and in some cases up to 85% of their grains whole), depending on their calorie level. This is because toddlers need very few calories relative to older children and adults, and yet have very high nutrient needs to support growth and development.” (Table 2-1 on page 64 of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans)

2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans indicated support for the Whole Grain Stamp, stating:

“A food is a 100-percent whole-grain food if the only grains it contains are whole grains. One ounce- equivalent of whole grains has 16 g of whole grains. The recommendation to consume at least half of total grains as whole grains can be met in a number of ways.

The most direct way to meet the whole grain recommendation is to choose 100 percent whole-grain foods for at least half of all grains consumed. The relative amount of whole grain in the food can be inferred by the placement of the grain in the ingredients list. The whole grain should be the first ingredient—or the second ingredient, after water. For foods with multiple whole-grain ingredients, they should appear near the beginning of the ingredients list.

Many grain foods contain both whole grains and refined grains. These foods also can help people meet the whole grain recommendation, especially if a considerable proportion of the grain ingredients is whole grains. Another way to meet the recommendation to make at least half of grains whole grains is to choose products with at least 50 percent of the total weight as whole-grain ingredients.[14],[15] If a food has at least 8 g of whole grains per ounce-equivalent, it is at least half whole grains.[16] Some product labels show the whole grains health claim or the grams of whole grain in the product. This information may help people identify food choices that have a substantial amount of whole grains.”

2010-2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The pace stepped up a bit in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, where much of the information above was repeated, and new advice was added, including:

“Limit the consumption of foods that contain refined grains, especially refined grain foods that contain solid fats, added sugars, and sodium.”

“Increase whole-grain intake by replacing refined grains with whole grains.”

“Many grain foods contain both whole grains and refined grains. These foods also can help people meet the whole grain recommendation, especially if a considerable proportion of the grain ingredients is whole grains. For example, foods with at least 51 percent of the total weight as whole-grain ingredients contain a substantial amount of whole grains. Another example is foods with at least 8 grams of whole grains per ounce-equivalent.”

2005-2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Specific recommendations for eating whole grains daily first appeared in the 2005 version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which said:

“In addition to fruits and vegetables, whole grains are an important source of fiber and other nutrients. Whole grains, as well as foods made from them, consist of the entire grain seed, usually called the kernel. The kernel is made of three components – the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. If the kernel has been cracked, crushed, or flaked, then it must retain nearly the same relative proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm as the original grain to be called whole grain.

“In the grain-refining process, most of the bran and some of the germ is removed, resulting in the loss of dietary fiber (also known as cereal fiber), vitamins, minerals, lignans, phytoestrogens, phenolic compounds, and phytic acid. Some manufacturers add bran to grain products to increase the dietary fiber content. Refined grains are the resulting product of the grain-refining processing. Most refined grains are enriched before being further processed into foods. Enriched refined grain products that conform to standards of identity are required by law to be fortified with folic acid, as well as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. Food manufacturers may fortify whole-grain foods where regulations permit the addition of folic acid. Currently, a number of whole-grain, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid…”

“Consuming at least 3 or more ounce-equivalents of whole grains per day can reduce the risk of several chronic diseases and may help with weight maintenance. Thus, daily intake of at least 3 ounce-equivalents of whole grains per day is recommended by substituting whole grains for refined grains. However, because three servings may be difficult for younger children to achieve, it is recommended that they increase whole grains into their diets as they grow. At all calorie levels, all age groups should consume at least half the grains as whole grains to achieve the fiber recommendation. All grain servings can be whole-grain; however, it is advisable to include some folate-fortified products, such as folate-fortified whole-grain cereals, in these whole-grain choices.”