Healthy Eating: A guide to new nutrition

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Registered: 05-17-2004
Healthy Eating: A guide to new nutrition
5
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 5:14pm
Introduction
Healthy Eating: A Guide to the New Nutrition

Forget your old ideas about healthy eating. There’s a different nutrition story now. This story, based on evidence from rigorous scientific studies, is not about denying yourself the foods you love or following a rigid diet plan. It’s a set of principles you can use to select from among the foods you enjoy. Research done since the 1990s shows beyond all doubt that you can lower your risk for the most serious diseases of our time by following a healthy diet. Healthy eating, based on this science, can ward off 25% of all cancers and, combined with exercising regularly and not smoking, can prevent possibly 90% of cases of type 2 diabetes. It can also cut your risk for heart disease by 90% and prevent hypertension, osteoporosis, and many other conditions.


We’ve known for many years that certain foods are healthy — especially fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. But now we know why they’re healthy. For the first time, scientists can point to specific nutrients and other substances in foods that fight disease, including vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals. But while “eat your vegetables” is a well-known refrain, it may surprise you to know that you should eat fat, too. That’s right, some of the healthiest foods are fats. Maligned for many years as the bane of a healthy diet, some types of fat — mainly those from plants and fish — have been shown to keep arteries clear and hearts beating normally and possibly to inhibit some forms of cancer.


This mounting evidence triggered a wholesale revision of the U.S. government’s nutritional recommendations in 2002 with the introduction of the new dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for protein, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber. These guidelines shift the emphasis away from low-fat diets and instead urge people to eat unsaturated fats, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and to exercise daily. In 2003, the World Health Organization concurred and also urged people to reduce salt consumption. The following pages explain these DRIs and give practical advice on how you can use them. You’ll find out how to separate the truths from the half-truths on a food label. You’ll learn the science behind the latest food trends, such as low-carbohydrate diets and soy. You’ll also learn why some low-fat versions of foods can improve your diet while others are little more than marketing gimmicks.


Choosing healthy foods goes beyond nutrition. One of the biggest challenges to healthy eating today is choosing foods that are safe as well as nutritious. Contamination from bacteria and other germs has become the biggest threat to food safety in recent years. Residues of toxic pesticides used in farming and shipping also pose risks to human health.


This report supplies the information you’ll need to choose safe, nutritious foods. Although junk food beckons from every store shelf and restaurant menu, there’s also a bounteous supply of healthful options. Perhaps best of all, healthy eating doesn’t demand that you give up great-tasting meals and snacks. There are plenty of delicious, convenient, nutritious choices under the broad umbrella of healthy eating.




Source: from Healthy Eating: A Guide to the New Nutrition, Harvard Health Publications, Copyright 2004 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell. USE OF CONTENT Harvard authorizes you to view or download a single copy of the Harvard Content on the eDiets site solely for your personal, noncommercial use if you include (i) the following copyright notice: "Copyright, President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved."; (ii) the following notice regarding permission for use: "Used with permission of StayWell."; and (iii) all other copyright and proprietary rights notices which were contained in the Harvard Content. Reproduction and/or redistribution of the Harvard Content is expressly prohibited. Any special rules for the use of other items provided on the eDiets site may be included elsewhere within the site and are incorporated into these Terms and Conditions. The Harvard Content is protected by copyright under both United States and foreign laws. Title to the Harvard Content remains with President and Fellows, Harvard College. Any use of the Harvard Content not expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions is a breach of these Terms and Conditions and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. Harvard Content and features are subject to change or termination without notice in the editorial discretion of Harvard. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved to President and Fellows, Harvard College. If you violate any of these Terms and Conditions, your permission to use the Harvard Content automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of any portion of the Harvard Content. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER The information contained in this online site is intended to provide accurate and helpful health information for the general public. It is made available with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, psychological, or any other kind of personal professional services on this site. The information should not be considered complete and does not cover all diseases, ailments, physical conditions or their treatment. It should not be used in place of a call or visit to a medical, health or other competent professional, who should be consulted before adopting any of the suggestions in this site or drawing inferences from it. The information about drug contained on this site is general in nature. It does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side effects, or interactions of the medicines mentioned, nor is the information intended as medical advice for individual problems or for making an evaluation as to the risks and benefits of taking a particular drug. The operator/s of this site, and the publisher, specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the material on this site.

Kerstin

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Fear

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 5:16pm
This is such wonderful info! Where do you find this stuff?

Amy

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 5:32pm
That is the longest disclaimer I have seen in my life....LOL
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 8:32pm
Bump!

Hugs, Brenda 

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-17-2004
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 10:09pm

I thought so too, but figured it was important and there for a reason.

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Fear

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-17-2004
Thu, 09-02-2004 - 4:16pm
bump

Kerstin

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Fear