Impact on Health
Atkins? South Beach? The Zone?
Trendy diets and diet research change almost daily. Still, amidst all the hype, study after study show that good food choices have a positive impact on health and poor diets have negative long-term effects. Know the facts:
- A healthy diet gives your body the nutrients it needs to perform, maintain wellness, and fight disease. Americans whose dietary pattern fit the USDA’s Healthy Eating Index have a lower incidence of major chronic disease (McCullough, 2002).
- Unfortunately, the standard American diet (often referred to as S.A.D.) is heavy in saturated fats, partially-hydrogenated oils, refined carbohydrates, and highly processed foods.
- This diet, in combination with a sedentary lifestyle, large portion sizes, and high stress, is blamed for the increase in obesity and associated diseases in the U.S. ( 64% of the U.S. adult population is overweight or obese.)
- Diseases associated with obesity include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and certain cancers, including breast cancer in women.
