The Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee (TNAC) has unveiled guidance that will shape required CME and medical school education, as well as inform patient conversations about better outcomes through healthy eating or food choices.
TNAC was created at the Texas Department of State Health Services under Senate Bill 25 during the 2025 legislative session. TNAC Chair Jaclyn Lewis Albin, MD, says the state-mandated CME requirements created by SB 25 that start for physicians on Jan. 1, 2027, will not be overly difficult to meet. Any new CME simply must teach or explain TNAC’s dietary guidelines or integrate those topics into existing stand-alone programs.
In addition, the state’s medical schools must incorporate the recommendations into their teachings by July 1, 2027, but Dr. Albin says the guidelines will not require schools to create a new menu of nutrition education programming.
In Dr. Albin’s view, better downstream patient care can come from physicians who invest in their own health, understand the link between diet and major chronic illnesses, and develop behavior-changing counseling skills.
TNAC knows nobody likes being told to eat their vegetables. That’s why it took a different tack with its first recommendations, serving up common-sense advice with a digestible slogan – “Eat Real Food, Y’all.”
With a mix of healthy proteins, fats, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables splayed across a Texas-shaped charcuterie board, TNAC developed a visual that any patient can understand.
TNAC’s dietary guidelines are built around three pillars, presented in everyday language:
- “Foods without a lot of processing are best for your body.”
- “How you prepare your food matters.”
- “There are many ways to eat healthy.”
Dr. Albin hopes physicians examine TNAC’s recommendations with an open mind. A patient’s diet has major quality-of-life effects, she says, so even small changes can have great value.
“Food is a bridge that connects across every divide,” Dr. Albin said. “Caring about what a patient eats is not only deeply relevant to your clinical decision-making, it might be the thing that makes them feel seen.”
TNAC plainly recommends Texans “find healthy foods that fit your culture, budget, and likes.”
“We all eat, and we all should care about the nutrient density of our food,” Dr. Albin said. “TNAC has an opportunity to try to get stakeholders across Texas to say, ‘What part can I play? What should I do to make this easier, where the healthier choice is the easier choice?’” She feels physicians are in a prime position to serve in that role.
TMA is monitoring how the nascent state guidelines will be used in new CME on nutrition and metabolic health.
The association recently released an episode of its A Better Question podcast on counseling patients on nutrition. Members have access to a wide library of free CME courses through TMA’s Education Center.