The American Heart Association is moo-ving against red meat, and that's no bull.
New draft guidelines concerning nutrition for the elderly should raise the ire of the Utah Cattlemen's Association, among others. They were announced Wednesday during the association's scientific conference on preventive nutrition."Choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources," said Dr. Ernst J. Schaefer of Tufts University, Boston. "Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Eat six or more servings of beans, cereals, pasta and rice per day.
"Limit your intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources. Choose foods low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol."
The preliminary proposals were worked out among a group of eight experts during the convention, held Monday through Wednesday at the Salt Lake Hilton. As the chairman of the subcommittee, Schaefer outlined ways the elderly should protect themselves nutritionally.
People older than 65 are at special risk of illness caused by poor eating habits. "There's great concern about nutrition adequacy," Schaefer said. Often their health situation is complicated by factors such as coronary heart disease, strokes, cancer or obesity, he said.
Older people may require nutrition checks to make sure they're consuming enough vitamins and minerals, he said. Also, to preserve their health, "daily exercise of 30 minutes or more is strongly advocated."
According to the subcommittee, dietary essential fatty acids should be at least 3 percent of one's caloric intake. "The most convenient sources are plant oils," he said.
"Total fat intake should also be less than or equal to 15 percent of calories. Consumption of fish and poultry are preferable to red meat."
Dietary cholesterol, which is inevitably consumed along with red meat, can contribute to narrowing of the arteries. When arteries are constricted by the deposits, the resulting high blood pressure can cause a number of deadly ailments, including stroke and heart attacks.
Another concern of the subcommittee is the fact that some scientists are worried that fats consumed in food can cause cancer. Two of the group's recommendations for further research touch on that idea. They are that gaps in knowledge and areas for further research include:
- "Clarification of the possible roles of dietary fats and calorie excess in the causation of specific cancers.
- "Role of the mutagens present in cooked meats in cancer causation."
Other areas where future research is needed included how to promote better diet and physical activity, including through behavioral modification; prevention of weight gain in aging; how to maintain muscle mass while a patient ages; the role of hormone replacement in the elderly; and the use of micronutrients like antioxidants, folic acid, other vitamins and minerals, in preventing cancer and other ailments.
Older people may not get enough food or water, he added. Sometimes they may not eat enough because their mouths hurt. "I think both mental states and dental states would affect food intake," he said.