Diet Facts & Fallacies

Finding a Diet That Lasts
Copyrighted information from the American Heart Association Food Certification Program

(NAPS)—If you want to make big changes in your diet, think small. That's the advice from dieticians who say that while nearly one in four Americans diet for health reasons, many fail because they try to make too drastic a change to their lifestyles.

"The best way to improve your diet for the long haul is to make small, specific changes," says American Heart Association volunteer spokesperson Rebecca Mullis, R.D., Ph.D. and head of the University of Georgia's Food and Nutrition Department. "Fad diets are simply quick fixes and some can actually hurt you in the long run."

The American Heart Association offers these tips to dieters:

  • Fill your shopping cart with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
  • Choose whole-grain products, including oatmeal, rice and whole-grain breads.
  • Select extra-lean protein sources such as skinless poultry, fish, legumes and lean meat.
  • Substitute low-fat, low-cholesterol snacks for traditional high-fat, empty-calorie snacks. Try baked tortilla chips and salsa or fruit and low-fat yogurt dip.
  • "Keep your eyes on serving size," says Dr. Mullis, who recommends reading a product's nutrition facts list on its label for the suggested portion. A good-size guideline for sources of protein is a deck of playing cards.
  • Get active. The only way to lose weight is by making sure to eat fewer calories than you burn each day. Being physically active for 30 minutes daily can help you use more calories and build long-term heart health.

The American Heart Association suggests eating a wide variety of foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, the number one and three killers in this country.

You can find those foods by using the association's distinctive red heart with the white checkmark logo. The heart-check mark can help you quickly and reliably find heart-healthy foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Then, continue reading the food label for information on calories, sodium, added sugars and more. To create your own grocery list of heart-healthy foods, log on to heartcheckmark.org.

To learn more about reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke through good nutrition, visit americanheart.org or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 for your free copy of the "Shop Smart with Heart" brochure.