The American Heart Association: Who are these people? page

[zebonaut]

The American Heart Association; as of 2013; continues to tell it's readers to eat lots of grains; to go "fat free" and to count calories. Are they not following current science at all? The want us to eat bowls of wheat cereal and oatmeal; (which will spike insulin; cause tooth decay; and obesity, and type 2 diabetes) They want us to eat "fat free" which means more carbohydrates; and more metabolic and hormonal appetite disregulation.

Their site:

Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations

Who are these people at the AHA? They can't be real scientists? Does this organization have anything at all to do with science; or is it just ....what? A CPR training club? Profiteers who sell a meaningless logo pasted on sugar cereals?

[RichMahogany]

Guess how much of their revenues comes from selling rights to put the little red heart-shaped AHA seal of approval in the corner of the General Mills cereal boxes and other junk product packaging...

[iniQuity]

Guess how much of their revenues comes from selling rights to put the little red heart-shaped AHA seal of approval in the corner of the General Mills cereal boxes and other junk product packaging...

Ding ding ding

[Karock]

Guess how much of their revenues comes from selling rights to put the little red heart-shaped AHA seal of approval in the corner of the General Mills cereal boxes and other junk product packaging...

Nailed it.

[Graycat]

Yep, what RM said. ADA operates very much in a similar way. "Healthywholegrains" and low-fat, don't forget the bunch of prescription medicine and insulin to go with it. God forbid you should even try low-carb !

[Finnegans Wake]

Yep, what RM said. ADA operates very much in a similar way. "Healthywholegrains" and low-fat, don't forget the bunch of prescription medicine and insulin to go with it. God forbid you should even try low-carb !

On the ADA...

[Silvergirl]

Same in Canada

To get more fibre:

Use whole-grain breads, pasta, rice, flour where possible.
Make sure you have at least one serving of vegetables or fruit per portion of the recipe.
Beans or legumes are a great source of fibre.

For more tips on fibre click here.
To limit the amount of saturated and trans fats and get more healthy fats like polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats:

Use milk products with 2% MF or less
Use lower fat cheeses (20% MF or less).
For meat, remove the visible fat before you cook the meat.
Poultry should be cooked and served without the skin.
Keep the amount of vegetable oil for cooking or sautéing low.
Use soft, non-hydrogenated margarines instead of butter.
Nuts (almonds, walnuts) and seeds are nutritious but they are high in calories and fats - limit the serving size to no more than 30g per serving of the recipe

For more tips on fat click here.
To get less sodium:

When using canned variety of beans or legumes make sure you rinse them before adding to the recipe.
Use unsalted or reduced-sodium broths, homemade or store bought.
Use reduced sodium soy sauce or dilute regular soy sauce with 50% water.
Salt can be replaced with herbs or spices in most recipes.
When cooking pasta, skip the salt in the cooking water.

[paul119]

Agribusiness = big money (think Monsanto)
American Gov't = run by big money

Do the math

[AuroraB]

Not to be a conspiracy-theorist or anything, but I say 'follow the money'.

I also once worked with a cardiac surgeon who never believed in angioplasty or cardiac stenting and always told the invasive cardiologists to just send them to him for bypass (more $$$ in his pocket). Guess who ended up on the cath table when he had chest pain? He wanted to avoid bypass at all costs when it came down it.

The AHA, like many other organizations, don't want to put themselves out of business.

[Annieh]

Same in Canada

To get more fibre:

Use whole-grain breads, pasta, rice, flour where possible.
Make sure you have at least one serving of vegetables or fruit per portion of the recipe.
Beans or legumes are a great source of fibre.

For more tips on fibre click here.
To limit the amount of saturated and trans fats and get more healthy fats like polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats:

Use milk products with 2% MF or less
Use lower fat cheeses (20% MF or less).
For meat, remove the visible fat before you cook the meat.
Poultry should be cooked and served without the skin.
Keep the amount of vegetable oil for cooking or sautéing low.
Use soft, non-hydrogenated margarines instead of butter.
Nuts (almonds, walnuts) and seeds are nutritious but they are high in calories and fats - limit the serving size to no more than 30g per serving of the recipe

For more tips on fat click here.
To get less sodium:

When using canned variety of beans or legumes make sure you rinse them before adding to the recipe.
Use unsalted or reduced-sodium broths, homemade or store bought.
Use reduced sodium soy sauce or dilute regular soy sauce with 50% water.
Salt can be replaced with herbs or spices in most recipes.
When cooking pasta, skip the salt in the cooking water.

I used to truly believe this and actually DO it (except for the margarine thing, I never believed that). How I had the willpower to keep it up for years on end I do not know.

It's astounding how much better results come from doing the exact opposite.
Also, your meals taste incredibly delicious as a result and the plan is therefore so much easier to follow.

But will people believe me? No, they think food that tastes good can't possibly be good for you and vice versa.