Protein just got a big boost from U.S. health officials.

The latest federal dietary guidelines tell Americans to “prioritize protein foods at every meal” and advise increasing daily intake — up to double the amount of previous recommendations.

“We are ending the war on protein,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a White House post on social media.

The guidance — including a new food pyramid — emphasizes red meat, whole milk and other animal sources of protein, while downplaying plant-based offerings.

But top nutrition experts question the protein push, saying Americans already consume more protein than they need, and there’s no new evidence that people need to drastically ramp up consumption. For many people, eating much more protein could lead to more fat and more cases of diabetes, they say.

“If you’re actively building muscle with strength or resistance training, more protein can help,” said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a Tufts University nutrition expert. “Otherwise, you’re getting enough.”

Others worry that the dietary advice will accelerate the trend of companies encouraging Americans to embrace extra protein in foods including bars, cereals and snacks – even water.

Sales of protein-enriched packaged food will increase at a time “when one of the main messages is ‘eat real food, eat whole foods,'” said Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert at Stanford University. “I think they’re going to confuse the public in a big way.”

Here’s what you need to know about the new protein recommendations:

Protein is a macronutrient that is in every cell in the human body. It’s vital for growth and repair of muscle, bone, skin, hair and other organs and tissues. It’s made of building blocks called amino acids, including some that the body doesn’t make and must come from food.

For decades, the U.S. dietary guidelines and other sources have recommended that people consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day, or about 54 grams daily for a 150-pound person.

The new recommendation advises people to consume 1.2 grams to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight — up to double the previous advice. The guidance says adults should consume at least 100 grams of protein per day with half or more coming from animal sources.

The average adult man already consumes about 100 grams of protein a day, or twice the old recommendation.