The Big Picture Should Dictate Your Diet
Oct. 5, 2000 -- The benefits of a healthy diet are endless, but it seems that these reasons are not enough for the typical American to alter their grocery lists or push away the plate. Now, researchers are urging the public to use their common sense to avoid heart disease.
According to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it is the overall diet that contributes to the fate of a person's health. By following over 44,000 middle-aged men in the health care profession through eight years of eating, researchers conclude that a "prudent" diet is best.
"While we were surprised that our results actually reflected what we thought common sense made clear, we found the problem is that not many adhere to the guidelines of healthy eating over a long period of time," researcher Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD, tells WebMD. "Often, there is too much attention given to individual nutrients rather than overall intake of such things as red meat and high-fat dairy products." Hu is assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
With inspiration from eating habits in the Mediterranean and Asia, the study identified those who ate high intakes of vegetables, fruit, whole-grain products, and fish as the "prudent pattern," while men who consumed ample amounts of red meat, processed meat, refined grains, sweets and dessert, French fries, and high-fat dairy products were labeled as following a "Western pattern." The authors write that overall dietary patterns more closely parallel the real world, and their findings suggest that major dietary patterns predict risk of heart disease.
"Much of our focus as a community has been on reducing cholesterol or adding fiber to our diets, while it is really the balance of all these things that make a healthy diet," David J. Frid, MD, tells WebMD.
"In addition to the Western pattern contributing to the risk of obesity, the study also points out that those eating a high-fat diet and who smoke are at three times of a higher risk of developing heart disease. It is important for a patient's doctor to provide this information or point them to someone who can help modify their diet, such as a dietitian." Frid, who was not involved in the study, is director of preventive and rehabilitative cardiology at the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.
The Big Picture Should Dictate Your Diet
According to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it is the overall diet that contributes to the fate of a person's health. By following over 44,000 middle-aged men in the health care profession through eight years of eating, researchers conclude that a "prudent" diet is best.
"While we were surprised that our results actually reflected what we thought common sense made clear, we found the problem is that not many adhere to the guidelines of healthy eating over a long period of time," researcher Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD, tells WebMD. "Often, there is too much attention given to individual nutrients rather than overall intake of such things as red meat and high-fat dairy products." Hu is assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
With inspiration from eating habits in the Mediterranean and Asia, the study identified those who ate high intakes of vegetables, fruit, whole-grain products, and fish as the "prudent pattern," while men who consumed ample amounts of red meat, processed meat, refined grains, sweets and dessert, French fries, and high-fat dairy products were labeled as following a "Western pattern." The authors write that overall dietary patterns more closely parallel the real world, and their findings suggest that major dietary patterns predict risk of heart disease.
"Much of our focus as a community has been on reducing cholesterol or adding fiber to our diets, while it is really the balance of all these things that make a healthy diet," David J. Frid, MD, tells WebMD.
"In addition to the Western pattern contributing to the risk of obesity, the study also points out that those eating a high-fat diet and who smoke are at three times of a higher risk of developing heart disease. It is important for a patient's doctor to provide this information or point them to someone who can help modify their diet, such as a dietitian." Frid, who was not involved in the study, is director of preventive and rehabilitative cardiology at the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.
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