The new health guidelines are better....

Today's Post: Tuesday, 2-1-2011

Today and yesterday there were stories in almost every news source about the new health guidelines.

1. Many of the stories focused on the guideline to cut back on salt by buying less packaged foods and/or buying the low salt version when possible.

“Reduce daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) and further reduce intake to 1,500 mg among persons who are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.”

2. They also included: “Increase vegetable and fruit intake. Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark-green and red and orange vegetables and beans and peas.”

The potassium from eating those foods often each week plus the salt cut back will help people avoid or minimize high blood pressure.

(The DASH II diet does just exactly this and is proven to lower blood pressure in both people with normal blood pressure a bit and those with high blood pressure more.)

Other than things like canned meats, fish, tomato or pasta sauce, and canned already cooked beans, most of the salt people eat comes in packaged dry cereal, packaged desserts, packaged snacks, and bread.

3. Similarly, they recommend: “Limit the consumption of foods that contain refined grains, especially refined grain foods that contain solid fats, added sugars, and sodium.”

The same packaged dry cereal, packaged desserts, packaged snacks, and bread made with refined grains that tend to be too high in salt also fit here.

If you stop eating those foods and begin to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables, you will also lose several pounds of fat without being more hungry.

So, those guidelines are good and much better than what they were before.

They also say:

4. "Keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible by limiting foods that contain synthetic sources of trans fats, such as partially hydrogenated oils...."

Many of the same packaged desserts, packaged snacks, and bread made with refined grains that tend to be too high in salt also have trans fats or hydrogenated oils listed.

But this guideline is still too weak. Trans fats and hydrogenated oils have been shown to act as heart disease starter lowering your protective HDL and increasing the amount of the small particle LDL that is one of the most potent causes of plaque build up in your arteries.

Suggesting that trans fats and hydrogenated oils be completely avoided is a much better guideline.

5. “Consume at least half of all grains as whole grains. Increase whole-grain intake by replacing refined grains with whole grains.”

This one is also too weak. Refined grains fatten and spike blood sugar MORE than sugar; and most of the fiber and other nutrients that make whole grains a food, have been removed.

In addition, people with some kinds of heredity, sedentary people, people with high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes and people who are obese or very overweight should eat very little of even 100 % whole grains.

Whole eggs for B vitamins and vegetables and beans and lentils for fiber are a better choice often for such people. Beans and lentils also are high in protein. Plus they have soluble fiber that lowers LDL cholesterol.

When people do eat whole grain foods they should eat small portions and use some kind of good oil such as extra virgin olive oil or almond butter or even small amounts of butter on occasion to slow down the blood sugar spike that even whole grain foods deliver.

6. “Increase intake of fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, or fortified soy beverages.”

Fortified soy beverages are a very poor idea as the form of soy they contain has some bad health effects. Traditional soy foods and fermented foods in moderation for those not allergic aren’t bad and even have some health benefits however.

The fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, such as milk, yogurt, cheese are a good idea since most of those today are from grain fed animals and their fats are excessively high in omega 6 oils in addition to the saturated fat.

Cheese and butter from cattle fed only grass ARE OK in moderation though they can be harder to find.

7. "Choose a variety of protein foods, which include seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.
Increase the amount and variety of seafood consumed by choosing seafood in place of some meat and poultry."

(“Due to their high methyl mercury content, limit white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces per week and do not eat the following four types of fish: tilefish, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.")

Farmed fish is also an extremely poor choice healthwise which did not make their list unfortunately. Such fish are fed grains and tend to carry a very high level of multiple kinds of pollution. Ouch!

Again “soy products” are a bad idea while traditional soy foods and fermented foods in moderation for those not allergic aren’t bad and even have some health benefits.

The rest of this is good advice. Unsalted raw or dry roasted nuts, lean meat and poultry in moderation, lentils & peas & beans, nonfat and lowfat dairy, eggs, and wild caught fish that is low in mercury and some other seafood instead of just fatty meat only IS a superior choice.

8. "Drink water instead of sugary sodas or other sweetened drinks."

"Consume alcohol only in moderation, meaning one drink or less for women per day and two drinks for men."

“"Prevent and/or reduce overweight and obesity through improved eating and physical activity...."

"Increase physical activity...."

“Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.”

The reasons to avoid dry cereal, packaged desserts, packaged snacks, and bread made with refined grains also fit here.

People who eat a variety of vegetables and some fruit mostly instead of those foods, who do NOT drink any soft drinks, who drink alcohol in moderation instead of excess, and who get both moderate and vigorous exercise each week are far less fat and dramatically healthier than people who do the reverse.

The guidelines don’t manage to quite say that. But the summary of many guidelines they do include does say that in many ways.

This is excellent and far better than what they had before.

9. They also say to keep saturated fat to 10 % of calories or less and to favor monosaturated or polyunsaturated oils.

If you eat a lot of nonfat and low fat dairy, wild caught fish, some lean poultry and meat, unsalted nuts, and beans and lentils, and abundant vegetables and some fruit, you will tend to be under 10 %.

Monosaturated oils such as extra virgin olive oil, in nuts, and in avocados IS a good recommendation.

And, the polyunsaturated oils in wild caught fish, walnuts, and some greens is a good choice. The wild caught fish have omega 3 oils and the walnuts both and some greens both have the plant kind of omega 3 and fiber to compensate for the small amount of omega 6 they have.

But virtually all the sources of polyunsaturated oils in oils high in omega 6 are horrible choices. Such oils as corn, soy, safflower, and even to a lesser extent, canola oil are in this group. Beef tallow is actually less harmful to you than they are. The inflammation they tend to cause is thought to be a major cause of both heart disease and cancer.

10. They did NOT stress to cut WAY back on sugar otherwise or to completely avoid high fructose corn syrup in other ways which is too bad. But cutting way back on soft drinks and many of the foods they do suggest minimizing actually has that effect.

In summary, the new guidelines missed a few things. But they are very close to the best advice going for the most part.

The input the government got from people who actually knew health shows in these guidelines.