U.S. Loosens Alcohol Guidance, Drops Recommended Limits: ‘Alcohol Is a Social Lubricant’ — Just ‘Don’t Have It for Breakfast’

Dr. Mehmet Oz says he’s comfortable with Americans drinking alcohol in moderation, arguing that small amounts can help people “bond and socialize.”

During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator spoke to reporters alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Trump administration introduced new nutritional guidelines.

The updated guidance changes how alcohol is addressed. It no longer spells out separate daily limits for men and women, and it also removes language warning that even moderate drinking can raise the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and death.

Instead, the recommendations now broadly advise adults to “consume less alcohol for better overall health,” and to avoid drinking if pregnant, taking certain medications, experiencing addiction, or if they have a family history of addiction.

Asked about the shift, Oz said drinking alcohol “judiciously” in small amounts—“usually in a celebratory fashion”—can be acceptable.

“Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together,” he said. “In the best-case scenario, I don’t think you should drink alcohol, but it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize, and there’s probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way.”

Oz also suggested that among people who “live the longest,” alcohol is sometimes part of their diet.

“So there is alcohol in these dietary guidelines but the implication is, don’t have it for breakfast,” he said. “This should be something done in small amounts.”

He added that there was “never really good data” supporting the prior recommendations that men limit alcohol to two drinks per day and women to one.

A number of nutrition and public health experts criticized the revised approach, saying the lack of clear limits could weaken public understanding of alcohol-related harms.

“Bowing to the alcohol beverage industry, RFK, Jr weakens the message on the harms of drinking,” Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, wrote on X. “The new food pyramid removes advice on safer limits on alcohol. Even the current guidelines (2 units for men & 1 for women) is inadequate. There is no safe limit on alcohol consumption.”

“The word ‘limit’ isn’t satisfactory,” Marion Nestle, a nutritionist who has written extensively about food policy, told The New York Times. “Limit to what? That is exactly the question. You really need to know what it means.”

Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, also told the outlet she was concerned the guidance didn’t explicitly include people under 21 among those who should avoid alcohol.

“If you talk to serious researchers who study alcohol and health, you’ll find a consensus that the relationship between alcohol and health risks is a dose-response relationship, and health risks start even at low levels,” she said.