The American Heart Association actively promotes a heart-healthy diet, from the publication of their popular cookbook first issued in the early 1970s to an extensive, userfriendly web site (http://www.americanheart.org). Back in 1957, the AHA proposed that a reduction in dietary fat intake would result in a reduction of coronary heart disease, which was already the leading cause of disability and death in the United States and in other developed countries as well.
The AHA continues to issue policy statements relating to the link between diet and coronary heart disease, modifying and updating their position as necessary in response to the latest research. The AHA’s position remains consistent, however, when it comes to fat consumption: too much fat, especially saturated fat, increases the risk of coronary heart disease.
In an attempt to help Americans prevent heart and blood vessel disease, the American Heart Association has issued dietary guidelines to promote heart-healthy nutrition. In Oc tober 2000, the AHA released the following Eating Plan for Healthy Americans, which focuses on reducing the three risk factors for heart attack or stroke: high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and excess body weight.
•�Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Choose five or more servings per day.
•�Eat a variety of grain products, including whole grains. Choose six or more servings per day.
•�Eat fish at least twice a week, particularly fatty fish.
•�Include fat-free and low-fat milk products, legumes (beans), skinless poultry, and lean meats.
•�Choose fats and oils with 2 grams or less saturated fat per tablespoon, such as liquid and tub margarines, canola, corn, safflower, soy bean, and olive oils.
•�Limit your intake of foods high in calories or low in nutrition. This includes foods with a lot of added sugar like soft drinks and candy.
•�Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol, such as full-fat milk products, fatty meats, tropical oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and egg yolks. Instead choose foods low in sat urated fat, trans fat and cholesterol from the first four points above. (Trans fat comes from adding hydro gen to vegetable oil, which partially hydrogenates it. It tends to increase blood cholesterol levels.)
•�Eat less than 6 grams of salt (sodium chloride) per day. That’s equal to about 1 teaspoon of salt, or a daily sodium intake of less than 2,400 milligrams.
•�If you drink alcohol, have no more than one drink per day for a woman or two per day for a man. “One drink” means it has no more than ⁄ 2 ounce of pure alcohol. Examples of one drink are 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, 1 1 1 ⁄ 2 ounces of 80-proof spirits or 1 ounce of 100-proof spirits.
•�Balance the number of calories you eat with the number you use each day. To find that number, mul tiply your body weight in pounds by 15 (if you’re active). This means if you weigh 200 pounds, you expend about 3,000 calories (200 × 15) calories in an average day. If you’re sedentary, multiply your weight by 13 to find the calories you expend.
•�Get enough physical activity to keep fit, and balance the calories you burn with the calories you eat. Walk or do other activities for at least thirty minutes on most or all days. To lose weight, do enough activity to use up more calories than you eat every day. As you can see, the Mediterranean diet is almost perfectly compatible with the above guidelines. It is almost as if the American Heart Association guidelines are simply describ ing the Mediterranean diet!
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