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New Guidelines Urge Healthy Diet, Exercise

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Jan Jarvis, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Jun. 20--A healthy diet and an active lifestyle go hand in hand in the fight to prevent heart disease. That's the message from the American Heart Association, which released new guidelines Monday emphasizing lifestyle changes such as getting at least 30 minutes of exercise most days and not smoking.

It's a lifestyle that Michele Windsor of Fort Worth has taken to heart. She hits the treadmill six days a week. She has also cut her sugar and saturated fat intake.

"I do it because I don't want to die an early death," said Windsor, a 40-year-old mother of four boys. "I want to live to see my grandchildren."

The American Heart Association's new guidelines aim to prevent cardiovascular disease by focusing on long-term changes in the way people eat and live.

The recommendations, the first that the Dallas-based association has issued since 2000, are for healthy Americans age 2 and older.

The new guidelines emphasize achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight and offer practical tips about caloric needs and food preparation. Almost two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, according to the association.

It all comes down to balancing the number of calories in with the number of calories out, said Dr. Sreenivas Gudimetla, a Fort Worth cardiologist.

"That's always going to be a battle," Gudimetla said. "But it's a battle worth fighting because it makes such a huge impact on cardiovascular health."

Cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1900 except for the 1918 flu epidemic, according to the association.

Nearly 2,500 people in the United States die of cardiovascular disease each day.

People who have had a heart attack are among the most motivated to change their lifestyle, but even they can get confused about how much exercise is enough, said Anita Segars, clinical coordinator for cardiac rehabilitation at Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital.

The guidelines recommend 60 minutes of daily exercise to lose weight and 30 minutes to maintain it.

"The 60 minutes in the guideline is wonderful not only for the cardiac population but the population as a whole, because people are getting larger and more sedentary," she said.

"You have to burn 3,500 calories to equal 1 pound of weight loss."

Exercise and a healthy diet are things people have control over as they try to prevent heart disease, said Debbie Phillips, community health and education director at Harris Methodist Fort Worth.

"We don't have control over our genetics; that's just a given," she said. "But there are things you have control over that are important and can make an impact."

She has seen how exercise can make a difference. Hospital employees who were identified as being at risk for a heart attack were able to reduce that risk through a program emphasizing exercise.

But exercise alone is not the solution, said Julie Parrott, a clinical dietitian for nutrition and cardiovascular services at Harris Methodist Fort Worth. People still need help putting the dietary guidelines in place and making them part of their lifestyle, she said.

"It's not just education," she said. "It's providing accountability."

Even when people want to live a more healthy lifestyle, economic, cultural and dietary barriers can make it difficult, said Dr. Damon Schranz, an assistant professor in family medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.

Some people are in denial and don't think a heart attack will happen to them, he said. Others want a quick fix and have trouble committing to a permanent change in their lifestyle.

"Laziness is just a big factor," Schranz said. "They want it to be easy; they don't want to have to work for it."

IN THE KNOW

New guidelines at a glance

The American Heart Association's 2006 diet and lifestyle recommendations for people 2 and older:

Balance calories consumed with calories burned to maintain healthy body weight

Know how many calories you need a day

Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily

Consume a diet rich in fruits and vegetables

Prepare fruits and vegetables with little added saturated or trans fat, salt and sugar. Trans fats are artificially created and limit the body's ability to regulate cholesterol.

Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods.

Consume fish, especially oily fish such as salmon, herring and trout, at least twice a week.

Children and pregnant women should avoid mercury-contaminated fish, such as shark and swordfish

Limit intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Trans fats are found in commercially-baked and fried foods, such as cookies and french fries.

Choose lean meats

Select fat-free milk and 1 percent fat dairy products

Minimize intake of partially hydrogenated fats

Minimize intake of beverages and foods with added sugar

Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt

Consume no more than 2300 mg of sodium per day

Middle-aged and older adults, African-Americans and those with high blood pressure should consume no more than 1500 mg of sodium a day

Limit alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two for men; that's 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits or 1 ounce of 100-proof spirits

When eating out, be aware of portion size.

SOURCE: American Heart Association

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Jan Jarvis, 817-548-5423 jjarvis@star-telegram.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)

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