Coconut oil, red wine not part of new dietary guidelines
The American Heart Association has released new dietary guidelines for heart health, as part of its mission to reduce heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
The change, said Dr. Stanley Wang, a cardiologist at Austin Heart and Heart Hospital of Austin, is really about making the guidelines more user-friendly. Instead of telling people how many grams of something to eat, the guidelines talk in broad strokes about making healthier choices.
“These 10 bullet points, we hope that will get absorbed by the public,” Wang said. “The previous discoveries don’t go away, but this is more approachable.”
The guidelines closely follow a Mediterranean diet, one that emphases plants, healthy fats and lean proteins.
Here are the guidelines:
1. Adjust energy intake (calories) and expenditure (activity) to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
2. Eat plenty of and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
3. Choose whole-grain foods and products.
4. Choose healthy sources of protein (mostly plants; regular intake of fish and seafood; low-fat or fat-free dairy products; and if meat or poultry is desired, choose lean cuts and unprocessed forms).
5. Use liquid plant oils rather than tropical oils and partially hydrogenated fats.
6. Choose minimally processed foods instead of ultraprocessed foods.
7. Minimize the intake of beverages and foods with added sugars.
8. Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.
9. If you do not drink alcohol, do not start; if you choose to drink alcohol, limit intake.
10. Adhere to guidelines regardless of where food is prepared or consumed.