Healthy Eating Habits – So, What CAN We Eat?

With all the talk of eat this and don’t eat that, heads are spinning. I know mine sure is. One day eggs are great, the next they cause heart disease, the next they are good for you again. Eat red meat, no don’t eat read meat. Oh, boy! Will someone please make up their mind? Well, what if we did not need to listen to what the “experts” tell us to eat? What is the actual truth behind what is and is not safe?

Once again I would like to bring you an e-mail message from Dr. Stephen Chaney. Dr.Chaney at this time is Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics and Professor of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His insights will give us a common sense interpretation of a study asking the very question of what we should eat. I will let Dr. Chaney’s letter speak for itself and give some final thoughts.

Dr. Stephen Chaney:

After one of my recent “Health Tips” newsletters, one of you asked me (perhaps out of desperation) “What can I eat?”

I came across an article in the February issue of Environmental Nutrition that I thought did a particularly good job of addressing that question.

The article itself was about the OmniHeart Diet Trial (JAMA, November 2005).I’ve told you about that study previously, but here’s a brief review:

The study started with the National Institutes of Health DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and high in fruits, vegetables, fiber, potassium and essential minerals – and has already been proven to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

The study then evaluated three variations of the DASH diet – one high in healthy carbohydrates (complex carbohydrates with low glycemic index), one high in healthy proteins (primarily from plant sources) and one high in healthy fats (monounsaturated and omega-3 fats) – and asked how each of those diets affected the risk of heart disease.

All diets were at 2100 calories per day and the trial lasted six weeks.

The results (envelop please) were that all three diets were effective at lowering blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, although the high protein and high fat diets were slightly more effective than the high carbohydrate diet at lowering cholesterol.

Similar results have been reported when these three diets have been compared with respect to their effectiveness at promoting weight loss.

The bottom line is that the exact diet composition doesn’t matter with respect to either weight loss or heart health as long as the calories are reasonable and the diet contains healthy foods.
So what does that mean to you and me? Here are Environmental Nutrition’s diet recommendations [with my comments in brackets].

#1: Get the “good carbs” by making room for more fruits and vegetables. Your target is 11 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day. [Eat starchy vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn - sparingly].

#2: Be picky and stingy with your grains. Limit grains to four or five servings a day, making most of those choices whole grains. [Another useful tip is to consume your grains with foods high in protein and soluble fiber].

#3: Choose low fat dairy products.

#4: Be wise about protein. Limit animal proteins that are high in saturated fat [They recommend] one serving (four ounces) of low-fat meat (lean red meat, skinless chicken or fish) and two to three servings of vegetable protein (beans, nuts tofu) every day. [Shaklee's Cinch Shake Mix can really help us get the low fat, vegetable protein that we need every day.]

#5: Switch to healthful fats. Swap the saturated fats found in animal proteins [and the trans fats found in] baked goods and snack foods] for the unsaturated fats found in liquid vegetable oils such as olive oil [and the omega-3 fats found in fish oil]. Limit total intake to two servings (two tablespoons) of healthy fats per day.

#6: Allow sweet treats – but not too many. Indulge in a small cookie two to three times a week OR two teaspoons of sugar per day in foods or added to your coffee. [Get real. You will never be successful if you vow to give up all of your favorite sweet treats forever. However, you do want to retrain your palette to enjoy all of the subtle and delicious flavors of fresh fruits in place of many of the overly sweetened snacks that you are currently eating.]

#7: If need be, you can enjoy a few additional calories (about 120) for an extra couple of ounces of fish, a small cookie or an extra tablespoon of olive oil. [If you are eating all of the good things that you should be eating, experts tell us that you only have about 120 "discretionary calories" each day to use as you please if you don't want to gain weight. You can spend them on
something healthy like the extra fish or olive oil, or you can spend them on junk.]

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney
Shaklee Master Coordinator
http://www.chaneyhealth.com

Bottom line? Stick to the foods that are the closest to nature and keep calorie intake reasonable. Indulge every once in a while, you won’t ruin your body. If you make it a habit however, over indulging will negatively effect you. Keep these thoughts in mind the next time you hear the “experts” declare “new” food guidelines and you should be able to look through the hype. Good health and happiness!