. The statement emphasizes the importance of looking at the total dietary pattern rather than “good” or “bad” individual foods or nutrients.
“We can all benefit from a heart-healthy dietary pattern regardless of the stage of life, and it is possible to design one that is consistent with personal preferences, lifestyles, and cultural customs. It does not need to be complicated, time-consuming, expensive or unappealing,” said Chair of the scientific statement writing group Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc., FAHA, senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Team at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.
The statement emphasizes that it is possible to follow a heart-healthy dietary pattern regardless of whether food is prepared at home, ordered in a restaurant or online, or purchased as a prepared meal.
The statement details 10 features of a dietary pattern to promote heart health:
Balance food and calorie intake with physical activity to maintain a healthy weight
Choose a wide variety and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to get a full range of nutrients from food rather than supplements
Choose whole grains and other foods made up mostly of whole grains
Include healthy sources of lean and/or high-fiber protein such as plant proteins (nuts and legumes), fish or seafood, low fat or non-fat dairy, lean cuts of meat, and limit red and processed meats
Use liquid non-tropical plant oils such as olive or sunflower oils
Choose minimally processed foods rather than ultra-processed foods as much as possible
Minimize intake of beverages and foods with added sugars
Choose or prepare foods with little or no salt
Limit alcohol consumption; if you don’t drink, do not start
Apply this guidance no matter where food is prepared or consumed
Processed foods include meats that are preserved by smoking, curing, or adding chemical preservatives and plant-based foods that have added salt, sugar, or fats.
Many processed types of meat are high in salt, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Research shows that replacing processed meat with other protein sources is associated with lower death rates.
Ultra-processed foods are those that go beyond added salt, sweeteners, or fat to also include artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives that promote shelf stability, preserve texture and increase palatability.
Other benefits:
A heart-healthy diet and healthy lifestyle behaviors such as regular physical activity and avoiding exposure to tobacco products are key from childhood throughout adulthood to lower the heart disease risk.
Women who eat a heart-healthy diet can reduce heart disease risk factors, which may help to prevent unhealthy weight gain in their children.
Evidence shows that the prevention of childhood obesity is key to preserving and prolonging heart health throughout the life span. Later in life, people who eat a heart-healthy diet have slower age-related declines in thinking abilities and memory.
For the first time, the issue of sustainability is included in the Association’s dietary guidelines. Commonly consumed animal products, particularly red meat (beef, lamb, pork, veal, venison, or goat), have the largest environmental impact in terms of water and land usage and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
Hence, shifting reliance from meat to plant proteins can help to improve individual health and the environment.
However not all sustainable diets are heart-healthy. For example, if a plant-based diet includes lots of refined carbohydrates and added sugars, the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease increases.
The dietary guidance discusses several challenges that can make it harder to adopt or maintain a heart-healthy diet. These include:
Widespread dietary misinformation from the Internet
A lack of nutrition education in grade schools and medical schools
Food and nutrition insecurity – According to references cited in the statement, an estimated 37 million Americans had limited or unstable access to safe and nutritious foods in 2020
Structural racism and neighborhood segregation
Targeted marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages
Creating an environment that promotes and supports adherence to heart-healthy dietary patterns among all individuals is a public health imperative.
On an individual level, the new statement reinforces a 2020 American Heart Association statement for health care professionals that encouraged routine assessment of patients’ dietary quality and inclusion of this information in the medical record so there is follow-up at the next appointment.
Source: Medindia
