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Key Diet & Lifestyle Factors for a Disease Free 2014

According to WHO, coronary artery disease (CAD), ischemic stroke, diabetes, and some specific cancers, which were common only in high-income countries, are now becoming the dominant sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide.  The striking changes in disease rates within countries over time and among migrating populations indicate that the primary determinants of these diseases are not genetic but environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle.
 

Individual as well as community interventions need to be called upon  aimed at changing diet and lifestyle factors to build a disease free 2014.

• Avoid Smoking: Preventing smoking initiation or cessation is the single most important way to prevent CVD and cancer.  Avoiding the use of smokeless tobacco will also prevent a good deal of oral cancer. Smoking can make it harder for a woman to become pregnant and can affect her baby's health before and after birth. Use this time of the year to get rid of all cigarettes and tobacco paraphernalia from your home, office and car. Also think about previous quit attempts, and what worked and what didn't. And when you hit the big day, don't smoke even a puff. Distract yourself from urges to smoke by taking a walk or indulging in some other exercise. If you're stressed, take a hot bath or do something else that gives you pleasure. Drink plenty of water. This will help take the edge off. Women smokers face a 17.8 times greater risk of dying of lung cancer, than women who do not smoke, a death rate that is 50 percent higher than the estimates reported in the 1980s, according to Dr. Prabhat Jha of the Center for Global Health Research in Toronto and his colleagues.

• Maintain a Healthy Weight: Bodyweight should ideally not increase by more than 2 or 3 kilograms after age 20 to maintain optimal health (Willett, Dietz, and Colditz 1999). Thus, a desirable weight for most people should be within the BMI range of 18.5 to 25.0, and preferably less than 23. To lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, a woman should eat more low-energy-dense foods. Low-energy-dense foods (such as vegetables and fruits) contain few calories per unit volume of food so that one can eat a large volume of it (for example, lettuce) without taking in many calories. Eat less of the high-energy-dense foods such as fats, egg yolks, fried foods, sweets, and high-fat salad dressings.

• Maintain Daily Physical Activity: Regular physical activity is a key element in weight control and prevention of obesity (IARC 2002; Swinburn and others 2004). For example, among middle-aged West African women, more walking was associated with a three-unit lower BMI (Sobngwi, Gautier, and Mbanya 2003), and in China, car owners are 80 percent more likely to be obese (Hu 2002). Besides, regular physical activity reduces the risk of CAD, stroke, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer, osteoporotic fractures, osteoarthritis, depression, and erectile dysfunction. AHA Recommendation for exercise include, at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 min/week, or at least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75; or a combination of the two, and moderate to high intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 or more days per week for additional health benefits.

• Replace Saturated and Trans fats with Unsaturated fats, including sources of omega-3 fatty acids: Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats will reduce the risk of CAD (F. B. Hu and Willett 2002; Institute of Medicine 2002; WHO and FAO 2003) by reducing serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Also, polyunsaturated fats (including the long-chain omega-3 fish oils and probably alpha-linoleic acid, the primary plant omega-3 fatty acid) can prevent ventricular arrhythmias and thereby reduce fatal CAD. The average woman should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day. Also, trans fats should make up no more than 2% of the energy (kJ/kcal) you get from your diet. For adults, this is no more than about 5g a day.

• Limit Consumption of Sugar and Sugar-based Beverages: Sugar (free sugars refined from sugarcane or sugar beets and high-fructose corn sweeteners) has no nutritional value except for calories and, thus, has negative health implications for those at risk of overweight. Furthermore, sugar contributes to the dietary glycemic load, which exacerbates the metabolic syndrome and is related to the risk of diabetes and CAD (F. B. Hu, van Dam, and Liu 2001; F. B. Hu and Willett 2002; Schulze and others 2004). WHO suggests an upper limit of 10 percent of energy from sugar, but lower intakes are usually desirable because of the adverse metabolic effects and empty calories.

   

• Consume Cereal in their whole-grain, high-fiber form. High consumption of refined starches exacerbates the metabolic syndrome and is associated with higher risks of CAD (F. B. Hu and Willett 2002) and type 2 diabetes (F. B. Hu, van Dam, and Liu 2001). On the other hand, consumption of fiber from cereal products has consistently been associated with lower risks of CAD and type 2 diabetes (F. B. Hu, van Dam, and Liu 2001; F. B. Hu and Willett 2002), which may be because of both the fiber itself and the vitamins and minerals naturally present in whole grains. Secondly, higher consumption of dietary fiber appears to facilitate weight control (Swinburn and others 2004) and helps prevent constipation.

   

• Limit Sodium Intake: WHO has suggested an upper limit of 1.7 grams of sodium per day (5 grams of salt per day) (WHO and FAO 2003). In 2014, reduce your dailysodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) and further reduce intake to 1,500 mg if you are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. The 1,500 mg recommendation applies to about half of the U.S. population, including children, and the majority of adults.

• Avoid Consumption of Excess Calories: Know what you�re eating. Everyone knows about the typical culprits (marshmallows, soda, jellybeans, etc.), but even �healthful� food items such as energy drinks, protein bars and flavored water have a lot empty calories. Look for high-fructose corn syrup, enriched and bleached flour, artificial colorings, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium nitrate and nitrites. All of these are to be avoided if possible. Also, a good rule of thumb is to stay away from anything with more than 10 ingredients; this means avoiding most processed foods.

   

Dietary Recommendations for the Prevention of Diet-related Chronic Diseases
 

^a This is calculated as: total fat - (saturated fatty acids + polyunsaturated fatty acids + trans fatty acids).

^b The percentage of total energy available after taking into account that consumed as protein and fat, hence the wide range.

^c The term "free sugars" refers to all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices.

^d The suggested range should be seen in the light of the Joint WHO/FAO/UNU Expert Consultation on Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition, held in Geneva from 9 to 16 April 2002(2).

^e Salt should be iodized appropriately (6). The need to adjust salt iodization, depending on observed sodium intake and surveillance of iodine status of the population, should be recognized.

^f See page 58, under "Non-starch polysaccharides".

• Ref: http://www.who.int/

The success of these key modifications depends largely on You and only you. So, pull up your socks and join the race for a disease free 2014.

Ref:

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Dated  26 December 2013

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