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USA Today
There's no
starvation on this diet
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Bookstore shelves are crammed with diet
plans, so why is it news that there's yet another one?
The difference in this case is that the
new book, Eat, Drink & Weigh Less (Hyperion, $23.95),
has been written by one of the nation's top nutrition
researchers.
Walter Willett, head of the department of
nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, says he and
cookbook author Mollie Katzen tried to "put together the best
scientific evidence about weight control with practical and
delicious ways to put that into practice."
Willett may not be a household name, but
his research on healthful foods, dangerous fats and daily
exercise has shaped current nutrition advice. He has published
more than 1,000 scientific papers over the past 30 years.
So it's not surprising that in his book he
suggests eating mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts,
legumes, olive oil and proteins, such as beans, nuts, fish and
poultry. Willett limits red meat and recommends avoiding
processed foods.
He hopes the book will help people lose
weight while enjoying food and "stretching their horizons" to
try things they have never eaten before.
One of the major problems with people's
diets in the USA is they are "vegetally challenged"; that is,
they don't eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables, despite
the fact that studies show these foods reduce the risk of
heart attack and stroke, protect against a variety of cancers,
lower blood pressure and prevent other health problems, the
authors say.
Willett and Katzen encourage people to get
out of their rut of eating the same dozen fruits and
vegetables every week. They recommend that people eat as much
as they want from a long list of vegetables that they call
their "A list."
"Many Americans have almost no dark leafy
green vegetables over the course of a week," he says.
That's easy to remedy by eating at least
one big salad every day, the authors say. With salads, "you
get a lot of mouth action for very few calories," Katzen says.
She suggests that people try to eat slowly
and mindfully and savor their foods. "Slow eaters don't tend
to be overeaters. You'll enjoy your food more, not less."
And go for quality over quantity, she
says. "If you have poor-quality, unsatisfying food, you are
more likely to eat more calories than if you have a
high-quality food you can savor and enjoy."
The book's recipes feature dishes like
scrambled eggs with spinach and feta, black beans with exotic
fruit, and broiled eggplant parmesan.
They are as "simple and varied as I could
get them to lure people into trying to cook a whole grain or
make a bean salad for lunch," says Katzen, who established
herself as a guru of healthful cookbooks in the late 1970s.
People need to make gradual shifts, not
radical changes, in how they eat, the authors say. They call
these shifts the nine turning points. Besides eating mindfully
and consuming more produce, they suggest:
•Say yes to good fats. Don't
arbitrarily cut fat. Eat less saturated (animal) fat, found in
processed meats, whole dairy foods and fatty meats. "From
everything we've seen, red meat should be a small part of the
diet, probably best not to eat it more than a couple of times
a week," Willett says. "If you are going to have it, choose
small servings of really good quality cuts that you enjoy and
are satisfying."
Avoid trans fats, often used by fast-food
chains and restaurants to cook french fries and other fried
foods.
Instead, eat plenty of unsaturated fats.
Mono-unsaturated fats are found in olive and canola oils as
well as avocados and nuts, and polyunsaturated fats are found
in corn, soybean, safflower oils as well as fish and legumes.
The unsaturated fats can improve levels of cholesterol and
other fat particles in the blood, strengthen the heart against
dangerous erratic heartbeats and fight the gradual clogging of
arteries.
"Use olive oil that has a really good
flavor and enjoy modest amounts," Willett says. "You can
overdo any good thing."
•Upgrade your carbohydrates.
Instead of simply cutting carbs, shift from more refined
carbohydrates (white bread) to whole-grain, high-fiber foods
such as whole-wheat bread and brown rice, beans and other
legumes.
•Choose healthy protein. Eat more
protein from vegetable sources such as beans and nuts,
supplemented by fish and fowl, and eat less red meat and dairy
products. You'll consume less saturated fat and more fiber,
vitamins, minerals and healthy unsaturated fats.
•Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of
water and avoid drinking empty calories, especially from
sugary beverages.
•Drink alcohol in moderation
(optional). For most adults, but not everyone, a daily
glass of wine or any alcohol in moderation is actually
beneficial to health.
•Take a multivitamin daily. "It's a
safety net that can fill nutrient gaps. It's not a replacement
for a healthy diet," Willett says.
•Move more. Getting at least 30
minutes of just about any kind of physical activity a day is
an important part of weight control. Other than eating right
and not smoking, it's the best thing you can do to get healthy
or stay healthy and reduce your chance of chronic disease.
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