According to an October 5th press release from the American Heart
Association, new dietary recommendations for heart health are going to
appear in the October 31st edition of Circulation, which can be
downloaded for free from the AHA website. These recommendations have
been revised to provide a more individualized approach to the American
diet, especially for those in high-risk group, which will make dietary
changes easier. The new recommendations encourage Americans to achieve
an overall healthy eating pattern, an optimal body weight, desirable
cholesterol levels, and desirable blood pressure levels. The American
Heart Association hopes that healthier eating will lead to a lower
number of deaths related to heart disease, which happens to be the
number one cause of death in America for over one hundred years. Many
scientists have discovered links between diet and heart health, yet
American eating habits continue to decline. In response to this, the
AHA has made four changes to their dietary guidelines to improve the
success rate of Americans struggling to follow a healthier lifestyle.
The American Heart Association believes that the new guidelines will be
easier to follow because they require less calculation. The
recommendations focus on overall eating habits, which are described in
terms of food groups, rather than percentages of fats and nutrients.
They stress what Americans should eat, rather than what they shouldn’t.
This doesn’t mean that Americans no longer have to regulate their
dietary choices, but it does give them greater freedom especially in
terms of dining out.
These new guidelines suggest a diet including fruits, vegetables,
legumes, whole grains, low-fat and non-fat dairy products, fish, lean
meats, and poultry. Even though the diet still includes at least five
servings of fruits and veggies and six servings of grain, two servings
per week of fatty fish have been added to the dietary guidelines,
additionally, the revised guidelines still recommend that the nutrients
come primarily from food instead of supplements.
The revised guidelines also focus on the importance of preventing
obesity. The American Heart Association is very concerned with the
caloric intake and food choices of Americans, and they worry that
Americans do not consume enough nutrient-dense foods. The new
guidelines recommend smaller portions, a more varied diet, better food
choices, and increased physical activity. They also warn that
overweight individuals who are dieting shouldn’t lose more than two
pounds each week.
The American Heart Association also hopes that the new guidelines will
help health care professionals make diets that will better meet each
individual patient’s needs, especially for those with high blood
pressure or cholesterol, diabetes, insulin resistance, high
triglycerides, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, and obesity.
For these individuals, having optimal dietary habits and reaching an
optimal body weight can make a huge difference. Additionally, with
multiple risk factors (high blood pressure, glucose intolerance, excess
abdominal fat), which are often called Syndrome X, are being told to
avoid those diets that are low in fat and high in carbohydrates because
they have a tendency to lower HDL, “good”, cholesterol levels. Rather,
these people are encouraged to add more unsaturated fats such as see
oils to their diet. |
