The American Heart Association’s new guidelines are designed to
help reduce heart-disease risk with healthier foods and less
heart-threatening lifestyles, experts say. Among the
recommendations: eat more fish to fight high cholesterol.
“The new guidelines are easier to use,” said Janine Freeman, an
Extension Service nutritionist with the University of Georgia
College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “They stress an overall
eating pattern rather than watching specific percentages of
dietary fat or other nutrients.”
The revised guidelines include achieving and maintaining:
- An overall healthy eating pattern. “The guidelines
recommend we eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables,”
Freeman said, “and six or more servings of grain products per
day.” Meals should include fat-free and low-fat dairy products,
legumes, poultry, lean meats and at least two servings of fish
(especially fatty fish like salmon and tuna) per week. - A healthy body weight. Use commonsense suggestions,
such as don’t eat too much or drink too much alcohol. Also, limit
fat intake to less than 30 percent of your total calories, and
limit high-sugar, nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods. Exercise,
too, on most days of the week. - A desirable cholesterol level. Limit foods containing
saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. Limit cholesterol to
300 milligrams per day unless you’re at high risk. Then keep it
to 200 milligrams per day. - A normal blood pressure. Limit salt intake to less
than 6 grams per day (2,400 milligrams of sodium). That’s
slightly more than 1 teaspoon a day.
“More specific guidelines are provided for those with elevated
lipids, heart disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, congestive
heart failure and kidney disease,” Freeman said.
Vitamin supplements still aren’t recommended. “The guidelines
also suggest caution following fad diets like high-protein,”
Freeman said.
The “Revised 2000 American Heart Association Dietary Guidelines”
and the consumer booklet, “An Eating Plan for Healthy Americans,”
are available at
www.americanheart.org/dietaryguidelines.
The consumer booklet is also at the local AHA office.
