Fats, Fiber, and Cancer
Eating too much fat (both saturated and unsaturated) not only increases the risk of heart disease but may also lead to cancer of the colon, breast, prostate, and lining of the uterus. Consider colon cancer, prominent in nearly all the countries where heart disease is a major killer. The scientific evidence suggests that a diet low in fat and high in fiber (especially from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables) can help prevent this cancer. In Japan, for example, with its traditionally low-fat, high-fiber diet, colon cancer is rare. But when Japanese migrate to the United States and ultimately adopt a largely Western diet, their rates of the disease approach the high U.S. rate.
Of course there are other risk factors that play a role in heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer, such as heredity, overweight, inactivity, and smoking. With regard to heredity, there is some evidence to support the theory that though your genes may place you at high risk, it may be possible through changes in diet to minimize the consequences of genetic factors. Insofar as weight is concerned, cutting back on fats and meats in the diet reduces calories considerably, so weight control becomes much easier.
What Medical Experts Tell Us to Do
According to the American Medical Association dietary guidelines, your cholesterol intake should be kept to less than 100 milligrams per 1,000 calories and never more than 300 milligrams per day. Saturated fat should comprise less than 10% of calories, and total fat intake should account for less than 30% of total caloric intake. They also recommend that you reduce your sodium intake to about 1 gram per 1,000 calories, not to exceed 3 grams per day. For the average person eating about 2,000 calories a day, these guidelines mean a daily intake of no more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol and 2,000 milligrams of sodium.
The Heart Association also advises you to keep total calories low enough just to maintain your ideal body weight and to get your carbohydrates primarily from grains, fruits, and vegetables. The following is a summary of the dietary guidelines issued by the American Heart Association:
Saturated fat intake should be less than 10% of calories.
Total fat intake should be less than 30% of calories.
Cholesterol intake should be less than 100 mg per 1,000 calories, not to exceed 300 mg per day.
Sodium intake should be reduced to approximately 1 gram per 1,000 calories, not to exceed 3 grams per day.
Other specific dietary guidelines issued at,the same time by the American Heart Association were:
Protein intake should be approximately 15% of calories.
Carbohydrate intake should make up 50-55% or more of calories with emphasis on increasing sources of complex carbohydrates.
If alcoholic beverages are consumed, the limit should be 15% of total calories, not to exceed 50 cc of ethanol per day.
Total calories should be sufficient to maintain the individual's best weight.
A wide variety of foods should be consumed.
An example for an average person consuming 2,000 calories per day:
200 milligrams of cholesterol
2,000 milligrams of sodium
22 grams of saturated fat
66 grams of total fat (1 gram of fat yields 9 calories.)
Therefore:
(2,000 x 10%) ÷ by 9 = 22.
(2,000 x 30%) ÷ by 9 = 66.
To reduce the risk of cancer, the National Academy of Sciences in its report Diet, Nutrition and Cancer, recommends that fat comprise no more than 30% of your total calories and preferably less. The Academy also urges the consumption of more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and less salt-cured, smoked, and charcoal-broiled food (these are carcinogenic). It further recommends that you moderate your consumption of alcoholic beverages, get some exercise on a regular basis and stop smoking.
How to Apply These Recommendations to Everyday Life
Developing a healthy diet means following two basic rules: moderation and variety. In other words, cut down on the things that put you at risk and eat a wide range of other foods that are rich in specific nutrients. These rules are right for everyone, not just people with already established health problems. They hold particularly exciting promise for children, who can benefit by forming tastes for the right foods early in life that may protect them when they reach adulthood.
Moderation If your favorite foods today are high in sodium, fat, or cholesterol, you don't have to give them up entirely. Just eat less of them, and eat them less open. Don't expect to change your eating habits overnight. Do it gradually and steadily. For example, if you abruptly stop cooking with salt, you're likely to find your foods unpalatable. But if you gradually cut down on the amount you use, you'll hardly notice the difference.
The guidelines are simple and should guide you the rest of your life. Go easy on fatty meats, on animal products such as eggs, butter, and cream, and on rich desserts, processed foods, and salty snacks. Increase your in-take of fresh vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish, whole grains, dried beans, and low- or nonfat milk products.
Often it is a matter of trading off. For example, if you start the day with cholesterol-rich eggs and then have a high-sodium fast-food hamburger for lunch, just eat mostly vegetables for dinner. A stir-fry of broccoli, carrots, and onions (with perhaps an ounce or two of fat-free chicken) flavored with plenty of garlic and fresh ginger root will do very nicely.
Variety The need for a balanced diet cannot be overstressed. Eat a variety of foods with at least two servings of ocean fish per week. Include fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain bread and cereals in your diet every day. For protection against certain forms of cancer, look to vegetables in the cabbage family (such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and turnips) and to fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins A and C (dark green vegetables and all yellow-orange fruits and vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squashes, cantaloupes, apricots, and citrus fruits).
In sum, good nutrition doesn't mean you have to become an extremist or food faddist. Nor does it mean you have to eat bland foods or miniscule amounts. As the recipes in this book prove, you can enjoy all the pleasures of good eating and still protect your health.
* Articles about the benefits of fish oils are listed in the bibliography under Dr. Daan Kromhart of the University of Leiden, Dr. Tak H. Lee of the Harverd Medical School, and Dr. Beverley E. Phillipson of the Oregon Health Sciences University.
Ingredients and Cooking Tips
In the pages immediately following are notes about nutrition, ingredients, substitutions, and some cooking tips that apply to many of the recipes contained in this book.
Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Fats and Oils, and Eggs
Meats Allow ¼ pound of uncooked, very lean meat, poultry, or fish per person. This will yield approximately 3 ounces of cooked meat (not including bone or fat).
Eat beef, lamb, and pork less frequently than poultry and fish. Pork is the preferred meat in Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese cooking, and insofar as fat is concerned there are no very lean cuts of pork. Fortunately, chicken substitutes satisfactorily for pork in most Asian dishes. Avoid duck, goose, fatty meats, bacon, sausages, luncheon meats, and organ meats such as liver and kidney. Choose lean cuts. Half the battle is won if you take care to trim visible fat, discard poultry skin, use as