Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane

staying healthy in the fast lane

U.S. Unified Dietary Guidelines

• Eat a variety of foods.


• Choose most of what you eat from plant sources.


• Eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables each day.


• Eat six or more servings of bread, pasta, and cereal grains each
  d ay.


• Eat high-fat foods sparingly, especially those from animal
  sources.


• Keep your intake of simple sugars to a minimum.
  Fisher, Edward A., et al., “Summary of a Scientific Conference on Preventive Nutrition:
  Pediatrics to Geriatrics.” Circulation 100, (1999):450-456.

“New Unified Dietary Guidelines Offer Nutritional Protection Against Wide Range

Of Killer Diseases.” ScienceDaily. (June 22, 1999). http://www.sciencedaily.com/

releases/1999/06/990622061026.htm (accessed June 11, 2011).

Both dietary guidelines recommend eating more fruit and
vegetables, more whole grains, and less fat and sugar. Those are
big recommendations and would go a long way to safely normal-
izing weight, which would reduce all chronic diseases. Indirectly,
the WHO guidelines encourage fewer animal foods, like the UDG,
because animal foods generally have most of the saturated fat and
are usually more calorie dense than whole plant foods. In other
words, animal foods generally contain more calories per weight or
volume than unprocessed plant foods, leading to excess calories,
weight gain, and inflammation.
The WHO guidelines are correct in recommending the reduc-
tion of trans-fatty acids, which come from confectionary processed
foods to extend shelf life, oxidized oils from frying, and margarines.
Trans-fatty acids increase cholesterol levels and cardiovascular
risk and may alter inflammation and neurologic function by alter-
ing cell membrane structure.