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July 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
Food Is Your Best Nutrition Source
ADVICE FROM HIPPOCRATES STILL RESOUNDS TODAY
By John A.
Patterson MD,
MSPH, FAAFP,
Mind Body Studio
Modern scientific research is helping fulfill the
2,000-year-old admonition that
Hippocrates gave to both physicians
and patients: “Let food be your
medicine.”
Much of the world’s most wellrespected nutrition research is
conducted by the Department of
Nutrition of the Harvard School of
Public Health (HSPH), the oldest
such department in any school of
public health (over 70 years). The
HSPH’s Department of Nutrition is
a worldwide leader in rigorous scientific research on the relationship
between food and health.
HSPH’s public educational Web
site is The Nutrition Source (www.
hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource).
When you sign up for a monthly
email update, you will receive the
latest scientific evidence to help you
make wise food choices to promote
health, prevent disease and use food
as medicine to help manage many
common medical conditions.
HSPH’s public nutrition mission
is reflected in its Healthy Eating
Plate, created in response to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
MyPlate, which replaced the
USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid in
June 2011. The world’s best nutrition researchers agree that the
USDA’s prior Food Guide Pyramid
and its new MyPlate reflect undue
influence by powerful business lobbying interests, primarily from the
animal products industry, fast food
businesses, food manufacturers and
food processors.
The USDA has a dual mandate to
(1) promote U.S. agricultural products and (2) advise the public on
best nutrition practices. Lobbying
by special interests weakens the sci-
Let FOOD
medicine.
be your
entific credibility of the USDA’s
public nutrition advice, leading
to recommendations that are not
entirely consistent with current
scientific evidence. HSPH’s Healthy
Eating Plate is based purely on a
critical review of the best scientific
nutrition research without lobbying
pressure by special interests.
How does the Harvard Healthy
Eating Plate differ from the USDA’s
MyPlate in educating consumers on
the four major food groups – fruits,
vegetables, grains and protein?
There are several key components.
Grains – The Healthy Eating
Plate says whole grains (whole
wheat, brown rice, whole “oldfashioned” oats) are better for your
health than processed grains. Vital
nutrients are removed in processing to make white flour, white rice
and “quick” oats. Your body handles
these processed grains like sugar,
contributing to our global epidemic
of “diseases of civilization” – obesity, high cholesterol, coronary
heart disease, stroke, diabetes, constipation, diverticular disease of the
colon, arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. There is also
accumulating evidence that whole
grains can help you live longer and
protect you against some cancers.
The USDA MyPlate fails to inform
consumers that whole grains are
a healthier choice than processed
grains.
Proteins – The Healthy Eating
Plate says some proteins are healthier than others. Healthy proteins
include fish, poultry, nuts and beans
(including soybean products such
as tofu, tempeh, miso, edamame,
soy milk, soy flour, soy protein, soy
nuts and others). Whole grains are
also a source of healthy proteins.
The Healthy Eating Plate advises
red meat be limited and bacon,
cold cuts and processed meats be
completely avoided. The USDA
MyPlate makes no distinction
between healthy and unhealthy