To Your Health
Nutrition News

by Paulette Avery, R.N., M.S.N.

Can you believe that a top nutrition expert from Harvard recommends eating full-fat dressings on our salads and thinks that asking for dressing on the side is a bad idea? I was certainly surprised to read that and other departures from the nutritional advice we have been receiving for years in an article titled "Razing the Pyramid," by Walter Willett, in the winter 2003 issue of Eating Well. Dr. Willett is one of the lead researchers in three of the longest running health studies ever, including the Nurses Health Study. Read on to learn more about how to eat healthfully.

For decades we have been bombarded with the message that fats are bad and should be avoided. Instead, we've been told, it is better to eat a high-carbohydrate diet. This is exactly the message communicated by the USDA dietary pyramid, according to Dr. Willett. He says the scientific community has only recently begun to change its tune. Meanwhile, obesity is skyrocketing in our country, and there is an epidemic of type-2 diabetes both in adults and also, alarmingly, in children. Of course, food choices are not the only reason behind those trends; lack of exercise and too many sedentary activities are also among the responsible factors.

But let's get back to salad dressings. Dr. Willett advises eating full-fat salad dressings because most are made from heart-healthy oils such as soybean or canola oil. Both oils provide a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, shown in many studies to prevent heart arrhythmias. "We actually see in the Nurses Health Study that people who eat full-fat salad dressings most days have a 40 percent lower risk of heart attack," says Dr. Willett in the article. He adds, "Salad dressing on the side is a bad idea. That's the fat you should be eating." Nuts provide another source of good-for-you fats. So you can put those back into your diet and feel good about it!

What else does Walter Willett recommend in a healthy diet? Here are some of his guidelines: Eat healthy fats and healthy carbohydrates. That means eating unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats, minimizing saturated fats, and avoiding trans fats and partial hydrogenation (check food labels for "partially hydrogenated" or "vegetable shortening"). If you are eating out, ask about the way foods are prepared. Dr. Willett shares an anecdote from his own life. He was in West Virginia eating at a restaurant that had corn fritters, fried catfish, and fried green tomatoes on the menu. He asked the waiter to find out what kind of oil was used to fry these foods and discovered they were cooked in nonhydrogenated soybean oil. He thoroughly enjoyed the three fried foods knowing he was being good to his heart as well as to his taste buds when he ate them.

As for carbohydrates, he recommends eating whole-grain products such as whole- grain breads and cereals, whole-wheat pastas, bulgur, and brown rice and avoiding sugar, white bread, white rice, and potatoes. Dr. Willett disagrees with the American Diabetes Association's position that all carbohydrates are the same. He says that refined starches are a particular problem because they break down into glucose so quickly. I was very surprised to learn that when sugar is broken down, it is only half glucose, but when a potato breaks down, it becomes 100 percent glucose. Eating too many potatoes may contribute to the development of diabetes.

Additional recommendations from Dr. Willett are to eat fish, seafood, poultry, and eggs for protein, to eat lots of vegetables (except potatoes), and to include two to three servings offresh, frozen, or unsweetened canned fruits daily. One to two daily servings of lentils, beans, nuts, and soy products are also on his pyramid, as are one or two servings of low-fat dairy products. If you already use alcohol, he recommends drinking alcohol in moderation (one drink a day for women and two for men). Take a multivitamin daily, and get regular exercise to keep your weight in a healthy range and to help prevent chronic disease.

Read the entire article at www.eatingwell.com.

Paulette Avery is a registered nurse and a freelance writer who specializes in health issues.