The American Heart Association (AHA) laid a new set of dietary guidelines. Apart from the dietary guidelines which were offered by various organizations such as U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the revised Food Guide Pyramid and food recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences.
All the guidelines though are given by different organizations have similar rules laid down. The familiar rules mentioned by all are increased intake of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nonfat and low-fat dairy products.Avoid eating unhealthy fat, especially the trans fats which is found in fried foods and baked goods. The AHA guidelines also talks about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Alice Lichtenstein, chairman of the AHA Nutrition Committee says that increased physical activity and not smoking are also important factors in healthy living. Some of the guidelines laid down by AHA to reduce the risk of heart and other cardiovascular diseases is to take food stuffs which have very low amounts of trans fat and saturated fat in them.
Lichtenstein advices people to choose leaner cuts of meat and lower-fat dairy products. Avoid foods made with hydrogenated fats and eat a lot of fruits and fish. He also advices people to include six to eight daily servings of whole grains such as cereal, bread, crackers and pasta in their diet. The guideline recommends that one should avoid Antioxidant supplements such as vitamins A, C and E in order to reduce cardiovascular risk.
Include oily fish rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. AHA also recommends soy foods to reduce blood cholesterol, triglycerides or other heart risk factors. It also advises for a fasting blood glucose level of less than 100 milligrams. These guidelines are simple ways for healthy living and hence should be followed strictly to avoid heart problems.
