Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating Reviews
Editorial Review
Aimed at nothing less than totally restructuring the diets of Americans, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy may well accomplish its goal. Dr. Walter C. Willett gets off to a roaring start by totally dismantling one of the largest icons in health today: the USDA Food Pyramid that we all learn in elementary school. He blames many of the pyramid’s recommendations–6 to 11 servings of carbohydrates, all fats used sparingly–for much of the current wave of obesity. At first this may read differently than any diet book, but Willett also makes a crucial, rarely mentioned point about this icon: “The thing to keep in mind about the USDA Pyramid is that it comes from the Department of Agriculture, the agency responsible for promoting American agriculture, not from the agencies established to monitor and protect our health.” It’s no wonder that dairy products and American-grown grains such as wheat and corn figure so prominently in the USDA’s recommendations.
Willett’s own simple pyramid has several benefits over the traditional format. His information is up-to-date, and you won’t find recommendations that come from special-interest groups. His ideas are nothing radical–if we eat more vegetables and complex carbohydrates (no, potatoes are not complex), emphasize healthy fats, and enjoy small amounts of a tremendous variety of food, we will be healthier. You’ll find some surprises as well, such as doubts about the overall benefits of soy (unless you’re willing to eat a pound and a half of tofu a day), and that nuts, with their “good” fat content, are a terrific snack. Relying on research rather than anecdotes, this is a solidly written nutritional guide that will show you the real story behind how food is digested, from the glycemic index for carbs to the wisdom of adding a multivitamin to your diet. Willett combines research with matter-of-fact language and a no-nonsense tone that turns academic studies into easily understandable suggestions for living.
Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating Customer Reviews
The Latest Research, Good Explanations, and Easy to Use
By Donald Mitchell “a Practical Optimist” (Boston)
Review Summary: You would have a hard time finding someone in a better position to write this book. Dr. Willett is chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and he heads some of the most important long-term studies of how nutrition affects health. In this up-to-date book, you will learn what the latest research shows about how eating, alcohol use, exercise and not smoking can help you avoid some diseases and birth defects. The book also explains how to read the latest health headlines and interpret the studies they are based on in the future. The lessons are summarized into a Healthy Eating Pyramid that you will find easy to understand, apply, and remember. The book contains a lot of helpful information about how to shop for more nutritious and healthful foods, and easy-to-follow recipes. I was particularly impressed with the summaries of the data on how weight and eating relate to various diseases. The book’s only obvious flaw is that it does not attempt to refine the overall research into sub-segment groups like those with different blood types, different genetic tendencies, age levels, and so forth.
Review: Like Sugar Busters! this book takes a serious look at overcoming the tendency for having too many fast-absorbed carbohydrates (whether as baked potatoes or as a soft drink) overload your blood with sugars and depress your metabolism. Unlike the “avoid fat at any cost” diets, this one says to avoid bad fats (especially trans fat and saturated fats) and to use helpful fats (like unsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature). You are also encouraged to seek out nuts as a source of vegetable protein. There is also a good discussion of the healthiest ways to acquire your protein. The beef v. chicken v. fish discussion is especially helpful. He is skeptical about the need for much in the way of dairy products (I was shocked to realize how much glycemic loading, creating sugar in your blood, is caused by skim milk), but favors vitamin supplements as inexpensive insurance. He shows that calcium supplements may not do as much as you think to avoid fractures. Exercise and not smoking are encouraged. Raw foods and ones that are slow to digest (whole wheat, for example) are encouraged among the fruit and vegatables, in particular.
The pyramid is contrasted to the one that the USDA adopted in 1992, which seems to be almost totally wrong. Apparently, it was developed based on a very limited research base. Since then, much has been learned.
I enjoyed reading about all of the long-term studies being done now to understand the connections among eating, lifestyle, and health. The next 10 years should radically revise the lessons summarized here, as Dr. Willett is quick to point out. The conclusions in this book, for example, are based on individual studies of eating, drinking, exercise and health rather than the long-term studies that he supervises and follows. So even those studies may show new things.
In one part of the book, he discusses the pros and cons of some of the popular diets. Some simply have not been tested for health effects, and he is candid in sharing what is not known as well as what is.
This book will be especially valuable to those who like to get their information from highly credible sources, especially from within the medical community. I think I’ll give a copy to my physician, who has been advising me to reduce fats in the wrong way!
Although I don’t consider myself very helpful in shopping for or preparing food, I learned a lot from the book about how our family can acquire better building blocks for a healthier diet. After you finish reading this book, think about where else in your life you may be following outdated information. How can you check? A good example is probably related to what you think it costs parents for children to go to graduate school and get a Ph.D. In many schools, all the costs are subsidized, and the students even get a living wage. How does that change your plans for encouraging your children’s education?
3 STEPS FORWARD, 1 STEP BACKWARD
By eddie vos “Eddie Vos” (Sutton Qc Canada)
This Harvard / Willett book redresses some of the major errors in the USDA food pyramid which failed to actually promote people’s health.
STEP 1 FORWARD: This book steers you away from the high “glycemic index” sugar and starch foundation of the old pyramid which helped promote adult diabetes, blood circulation problems and heart disease. Instead, vegetables, fruits, whole grain foods and some oils become part of the new foundations of the proposed food pyramid.
STEP 2 FORWARD: The new pyramid includes “Multiple Vitamins for Most” and Alcohol in Moderation (unless contraindicated).
STEP 3 FORWARD: Harvard’s new pyramid rehabilitates an oil based diet by making mono-unsaturates (olive and canola) and OMEGA-3 poly-unsaturates keys to good heath. ALL scientists having studied OMEGA-3 oils (of which fish, canola, flax and unhydrogenated soybean are main sources) DO AGREE with the need to increase this healthy oil which appears, at the very least, to lower sudden heart deaths and that may well reduce inflammation (arthritis, etc.) and possibly cancers.
BACKWARD 1 STEP, and this is extremely unfortunate since most fat-scientists also agree about this point: an excessive intake of the other poly-unsaturate, OMEGA-6 linoleic (found in corn, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower and again in soy) may well promote inflammatory (arthritis, heart) diseases, and cancer. I’d refer the reader to the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids, ISSFAL ( […]) recommending a maximum intake of omega-6 linoleic of only 6.7 grams as the average American and most Europeans already get twice that much.
While Willett ([…]) report on this potential danger of omega-6 (page 77), they nevertheless include corn and sunflower, some main offenders, in the very base of their new pyramid. Not only that, they propose that reducing omega-6 oils from current amounts “is likely to wipe out many of the gains” in preventing heart disease… This omega-6 position has Harvard relatively isolated since it is without the support of clinical trials. The blanket recommendation of all polyunsaturated oils, if ISSFAL is correct, may well violate the medical principle of “first not to do harm”. This, and the continued blaming of saturated fat and cholesterol [also without clinical evidence in support] is truly a superb opportunity missed to incorporate the important last decade of research about fats.
This is one problem with statistics and not biology based nutritional advice. With those comments in mind and considering that a high intake of omega-6 poly-unsaturates like corn and sunflower oils may be dangerous [and don’t raise good cholesterol; HDL, page 61], this book is a worthwhile read that makes an important contribution to healthy eating and to the battle against diabetes and industrial hydrogenation [trans fats]. ([…] )
By John M. Bowman MD “drb mtholycrossclinic” (Vail CO)
As a nutritionally oriented sports surgeon and antiaging specialist, I was delighted to see the appearance of this work from one of America’s leading researchers on the effects of diet on health.
The cover states: “Unique and authoritative, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy will teach everyone a new and fun way to eat.”
Dr. Willett starts by attacking the USDA Food Pyramid. “At best, the USDA Pyramid offers wishy-washy, scientifically unfounded advice on an absolutely vital topic- what to eat. At worst, the misinformation contributes to overweight, poor health, and unnecessary early deaths.” “The thing to keep in mind about the USDA Pyramid is that it comes from the Department of Agriculture, the agency responsible for promoting American agriculture, not from agencies established to protect our health…And there’s the root of the problem- what’s good for some agricultural interests isn’t necessarily good for the people who eat there products.”
He then goes on to propose his own “Healthy Eating Pyramid” with red meat, butter, white rice, white bread, potatoes, pasta, sweets to be “used sparingly, and whole grain foods and plant oils “at most meals.”
Dr. Willett attacks the US dietary “attack on fat.” “The all-fat-is-bad message has started a huge national experiment, with us as the guinea pigs.” The “rise in the amount of trans fats made and eaten in the United States suspiciously parallels the rise in heart disease throughout much of this century.” Finally! A researcher from the mainstream medical establishment (sorry Mary Enig…you were too far ahead of your time to ever be allowed back into the mainstream! <see Mary Enig’s Know Your Fats for more>) has come out in a major publication to explain the evils of trans fats to the public (although the section in Drs. Eades Protein Power Life Plan and Dr. Enig’s book Know Your Fats are better).
He also joins the bandwagon to watch your carbohydrate intake. “Carbohydrates…contribute more toward weight maintenance or weight gain than any other nutrient.” He briefly mentions insulin resistance, barely touches “The Metabolic Syndrome” and points out that “HIGH CARBOHYDRATE DIETS ARE ESPECIALLY BAD FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OVERWEIGHT.” “Experiments in which volunteers were asked to follow high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets ended up with heart-unhealthy changes in levels of HDL and triglycerides, not to mention higher levels of blood sugar and insulin, and these changes were the most pronounced in overweight people.” “Dark bread can have just as high a glycemic index value as white bread if the flour is finely ground.”
Dr. Willett goes on with well-written and informative chapters on protein, calcium, fluids and supplements, a lot of good recipes and an excellent list of resources for those trying to find whole grain foods that really are whole grain (which alone may be worth the price of the book).
In summary, Dr. Willett has provided an excellent summary of the medical establishment literature to date. But I wonder how many times he has sat across an exam table from a 275 pound woman who still thinks bagels (even whole grain bagels) are health food and got her to lose weight with this diet.
Dr. Willett bans the regular inclusion of red meat in the diet and limits other animal protein sources (to 0-2 times per day) but offers surprisingly little evidence to support this ban. “Too much protein … can draw calcium out of the skeleton and possibly lead to osteoporosis and broken bones.” He ignores the countless other ways that modern diet causes chronic metabolic acidosis (the medical term he is referring to) , particularly phosphates in sodas.
Dr. Willett bans saturated fat from the diet (hence the ban on red meat and butter) despite evidence that eating saturated fat (especially from hormone free meat) does nothing to promote insulin resistance. And he completely ignores legitimate concerns that more then small amounts of even complex carbohydrates are bad (and potentially very bad) for us (see “leaky gut syndrome”).
We live in an epidemic of obesity caused by Metabolic Syndrome which itself is caused by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is not just related to, but is THE primary (but not only) cause of diabetes, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and a host of other degenerative conditions. INSULIN RESISTANCE IS THE BUBONIC PLAGUE OF OUR TIME. Restriction of carbohydrates is the only dietary treatment to date which helps correct insulin resistance.
Conventional medicine, unfortunately, is always “one step behind” leading health practitioners, because conventional doctors insist on study after study before changing current practice. There ARE STILL over 2,000 babies born per year with neural tube defects in America, despite the fact that we have known how to stop them since 1976 with folic acid!
Dr. Willett is to be commended for the book which shows how far “mainstream” medicine has come. This book will do a lot to get the word out that trans fats are poison and unsaturated fats are good. But Dr. Willett himself just can’t bring himself to admit that his own institution’s data shows that saturated fat, while not necessarily good for you, is a dietary “neutral” and is much better then complex carbohydrates at improving insulin resistance.
BOTTOM LINE:
-A “must read” for those interested in nutritional medicine.
-Excellent reference source for increasing intake of whole grains, but makes no mention of dietary problems with whole grains. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY LOST WEIGHT AND ARE SEARCHING FOR SOURCES OF WHOLE GRAINS TO INCLUDE A SMALL AMOUNT IN THEIR DIET.
-Excellent section on trans fats.
-This is NOT the book to read if you need to lose weight. If you insist on trying, give it 12 weeks. If it doesn’t work, buy Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (2002 edition).
-Dr. Willett “cherry picks” nutritional information to match his pyramid, and ignores (or at least does not include in his book) scientific concerns about excessive carbohydrate intake (particularly “leaky gut syndrome”).
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