WHAT'S THE MOST HEALTHFUL DIET?

Report #7269

The Journal of Clinical Nutrition had articles written by the world's most influential researchers on nutrition. Their consensus is that the most healthful diet is loaded with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, contains fish or shell fish twice a week, is very low on meat and chicken and limits refined grains to keep the diet from contributing too many calories.

Fruits, vegetables whole grains and beans are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals that help to prevent diseases. They're also loaded with polyunsaturated fats that help to prevent heart attacks. However, when oils are removed from vegetables, the oils turn rancid quickly so they are hydrogenated to prolong shelf life. Hydrogenated fats increase your chances of suffering heart attacks and cancer. So don't eat a lot of bakery products and prepared foods that contain hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Fish contain omega-3 oils that prevent clotting and swelling that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and possibly some types of cancers. But they offer maximum protection against heart attacks when taken twice a week. Taking fish oils more often than that does not offer additional protection. Meat, eggs and chicken are loaded with saturated fats that form acetone units that your liver uses to make cholesterol. However eating saturated fats increases your chances of getting a heart attack only when you take in more calories than you need. If you reduce your intake of calories by a third and eat mostly meat and chicken, your cholesterol will go down.

If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or are overweight, restrict calories. The best way to do this is to restrict bakery products because they are a rich source of calories that lack enough fiber to make you feel full, causing you to eat too much. Whole grains suppress your appetite so you eat less.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News