July 26, 1999
The idea that what you eat can affect your overall health is nothing new.
But now five of the nation's top health organizations have developed a single eating plan designed to keep you healthy.
NBC's Brooke Hart has the story from Washington.
The American Heart Association has said for years green leafy vegetables will
prevent heart disease.
So has the American Cancer Society about preventing cancer.
Now, a unified dietary message-- that a single eating plan can protect against
the biggest killers: Heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.
Cardiologist Dr. Alan Wasserman, says,
"If you don't smoke, and you don't drink, is to eat a proper diet."
The combined message recommends people eat a variety of foods, choosing mostly
from plant sources.
- Five or more servings of fruits and vegetables.
- Six or more servings of bread, pasta and cereals.
- The guidelines also warn against fat, especially animal fat from meat and dairy
products, and against too much sugar and salt.
All recommendations for everyone over the age of two.
But the unified guidelines say certain groups of people have special dietary
needs. Women, for example, should eat more low-fat dairy foods to get the
calcium which will prevent osteoporosis.
The guidelines include long-standing dietary recommendations. So why do
Americans continue to risk their health by ignoring them?
Health organizations
agree more research is needed into the cultural and economic forces on eating
patterns.
Dr. Wasserman suggests,
"Eating a Big Mac may be relatively inexpensive. Eating healthy may be much more expensive."
Now health organizations hope their joint message of fighting disease by
eating right, will be a stronger factor in Americans' choices of what and
what not to eat.
