Diet does not have to be a four-letter word.
Most of the time, a diet implies weight loss and comes loaded with restrictions and perhaps even plans that are not very healthy. But new recommendations released recently by a team of health experts refer to diet with a different goal in mind: preventing heart disease and stroke.
Developed by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, the new guidelines emphasize a healthy, nutritious diet can play a tremendous role in lowering risk for heart attack and stroke. Such a diet also can help in "reducing or reversing" obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure – all considered risk factors for heart disease.
The Mediterranean diet is not actually one specific diet but a reflection of the eating habits common in the numerous countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It shares many characteristics with the diet known as DASH, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, frequently prescribed to help lower blood pressure.
Both plans emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts. But the Mediterranean diet includes regular use of olive oil, low to moderate intake of fish and poultry, and rare consumption of red meat and dairy products. The DASH diet allows more protein sources from low-fat dairy and cuts of meat and poultry.
"I always tell patients, healthy diets – whether Mediterranean or DASH – they're all more alike than they are different," said Khera, a professor of medicine and director of the preventive cardiology program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Khera noted the previous prevention guidelines restricted dietary approaches to focus on lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The new update provides a more comprehensive approach to making heart-healthy choices to lower overall cardiovascular risk.
The guidelines also recommend limiting processed meats, refined carbohydrates and all types of sweetened beverages because of their link to increased risk of death, heart disease, and stroke.
The guidelines' authors also note certain diets popular in recent years, including variations of a low-carb, high-fat/high-protein theme, have been linked to early death in various studies.
But he said on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, some vegans who shun meat, dairy and other animal-based products are not making heart-smart selections if they load their plates full of fried foods or refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta and white rice.
High consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and "lean vegetable or animal protein (preferably fish)" are emphasized in new diet guidelines by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.