Diet for good Health

• Eat a nutritionally adequate diet consisting of a variety of foods.

• Reduce consumption of fat, especially saturated fat, and cholesterol.

• Achieve and maintain an appropriate body weight.

• Increase consumption of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber.

• Reduce intake of sodium.

• Consume alcohol in moderation, if at all. Children, adolescents, and pregnant women should abstain.

Current medical recommendations regarding diet and related lifestyle practices for the general population are based on evidence indicating that modification of specific risk factors will decrease incidence of CHD. These risk factors include cigarette smoking; elevated levels of plasma cholesterol, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol; low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol; increased blood pressure; diabetes mellitus; obesity, especially visceral adiposity; and physical inactivity.

To reduce the impact of these risk factors on the occurrence of CHD in the general population, the following are the population-wide dietary and lifestyle goals:

• Elimination of cigarette smoking
• Appropriate levels of caloric intake and physical activity to prevent obesity and reduce weight in those who are overweight
• Consumption of 30% or less of the day's total calories from fat
• Consumption of 8% to 10% of total calories from saturated fatty acids
• Consumption of up to 10% of total calories from polyunsaturated fatty acids
• Consumption of up to 15% of total calories from monounsaturated fatty acids
• Consumption of less than 300 mg/d of cholesterol
• Consumption of no more than 2.4 g/d of sodium
• Consumption of 55% to 60% of calories as complex carbohydrates
• For those who drink and those for whom alcohol (ethanol) is not contraindicated, consumption should not exceed 2 drinks (1 to 2 oz of ethanol) per day