How many recommendations are there now?

Eleven. They run from “water is the best drink” through “fruit and vegetables, plenty and colourful” and “wholegrain is the best choice” to “stay active and keep an eye on your weight.”

How much meat a week does the DGE recommend?

No more than 300 g of meat and cold cuts a week — one of the starkest changes from many eating habits.

How much water a day?

Around 1.5 litres a day, ideally water or other low-energy drinks. Sugary and alcoholic drinks are considered not recommended.

How much fruit and vegetables a day?

At least five portions a day, plenty and colourful. The measure is your own hand; up to two 200 ml servings of juice a week count toward it.

How often should you eat fish?

Once or twice a week, preferably from sustainable stocks.

What's new in the 2024 recommendations?

Two things: legumes and nuts are explicitly promoted, and the recommendations now weigh the environmental impact of foods alongside health.

DGE Recommendations 2024 — From the 10 Rules to “Gut essen und trinken”

Q: What happened to the DGE's 10 rules?

In March 2024 the DGE replaced the “10 rules” with eleven food-based recommendations titled “Gut essen und trinken.” The old page redirects to the new recommendations; the core messages carry forward.

The DGE's dietary recommendations: in 2024 the “10 rules” were replaced by the new “Gut essen und trinken” recommendations. The headlines, the amounts, and what changed.

What happened to the DGE's 10 rules?

In March 2024 the DGE retired its well-known “10 rules.” In their place came eleven food-based recommendations titled “Gut essen und trinken” (eat and drink well). The core messages stayed; the amounts became more concrete.

From ten rules to eleven recommendations

The “10 Regeln der DGE” were for decades Germany's best-known summary of healthy eating. In March 2024 the DGE replaced them with the new food-based recommendations “Gut essen und trinken”; the old web address now redirects to the new page.

What's most new is the reasoning: the recommendations now weigh the environmental impact of foods explicitly, not just health.

The eleven recommendations at a glance

Water is the best drink — around 1.5 litres a day
Fruit and vegetables, plenty and colourful — at least 5 portions a day, the hand as measure
Legumes and nuts regularly — legumes at least 1 portion a week, nuts a small handful (about 25 g) a day
Wholegrain is the best choice — at least a third of grain products as wholegrain
Prefer plant oils — 10 g plant oil plus 10 g margarine or butter a day
Milk and dairy every day — 2 portions
Fish every week — once or twice
Meat and cold cuts: less is more — no more than 300 g a week
Sweet, salty and fatty foods: better to leave them
Enjoy your meals
Stay active and keep an eye on your weight

Each recommendation carries a short headline and, where the DGE gives one, a concrete amount:

What the numbers mean in practice

Behind the short sentences sit concrete amounts. Grains run to about five 60 g portions a day, with one potato portion (around 250 g) a week; legumes appear at least once a week (125 g cooked), nuts around 25 g a day.

The starkest change from many habits: meat and cold cuts stay under 300 g a week combined. Alcohol gets no rule of its own — it counts among the not-recommended drinks under recommendation 1.

Circle, pyramid, and the recommendations

The same eleven recommendations sit inside the pictures too: the DGE Ernährungskreis shows them as the proportion of the groups, the food pyramid as countable portions for a day.

To convert the amounts to your own needs, use the portion calculator.