Nutrition for Better Health!

Some years ago, I had one bout of bronchitis after the other. I could not seem to shake it. It affected the way I felt, of course, and it did a number on my speaking voice. That was a problem since I did my own radio announcements for a food product I founded, Smart Balance Buttery Spread®. I used radio quite a lot in those days and I just was unable to feel comfortable doing my commercials in a raspy voice and having to get rid of the congestion to breathe comfortably.

I was very unhappy when I went to Columbia Medical Center that had been recommended to my wife. The pulmonologist looked at the list of many drugs and sprays I had accumulated over a two year period and told me I could open a drug store. He kept me on a single spray and temporarily recommended an antibiotic but most importantly, he told me to follow healthy living practices and to get more sleep to strengthen my immune system. In very short order, my bronchitis cleared and I went back on the radio again, knock on wood. I have been OK for many years since.

The Beginning of a Solution
I’ve long been interested in nutrition since my father, uncles and brothers died quite young from heart disease. I followed a good health regimen at the time—namely reduced total dietary fats in general and saturated fats in particular. Of course, my work with Brandeis University scientists on our Smart Balance® oil blend taught me the importance of balanced fats—namely, to consume about equal quantities of polyunsaturated fats to saturated fats and avoid as many meat (animal) fats as possible. I also avoided foods with partially hydrogenated oils to cut down on trans fatty acid intake, and walked about 30 minutes each day. My chest condition cleared up and my blood cholesterol ratio (HDL to LDL) dramatically improved. I’m now 84 years old and have long outlived the men in my family. Maybe my sons and daughter would have a chance to beat the family history? So far, so good.

Where Do You Go From Here?
After doing a number on my diet as far as fats were concerned (and started regular exercise), I wanted to learn more and do more. Right about that time, a new idea had gained currency and was being well received by the medical community. It was called the DASH DIET. It stands for, “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.” It was created by The National Institutes of Health and is now being used and recommended for virtually many purposes—far wider than its original purpose to reduce blood pressure and weight control. The diet features portion control of a great variety of fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy foods and can be very useful not only for heart disease and cancer prevention but also COPD without a doubt.

Dash for Dash!
I strongly recommend that each of us study the Dash Diet (information is free online at www.dietdash.org) because it offers the very basic advantages of everything we know about good nutrition. The variety of fruits and vegetables offer high dietary fiber, diversified natural antioxidants and a great assortment of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. The Dash Diet is a starting point for solid nutrition for better health and its benefits can be made available to you (and your family) easily and surely. Whether it’s disease (cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, COPD, diabetes or simply weight control) and better health, dash for the Dash Diet now. I went online and found one and many websites.

Even though most people know that this seems like a very healthy way of eating, they initially may find it hard to implement and sustain. The average American gets 2-3 servings of fruits and vegetables combined each day, so following the DASH diet can involve making a concerted effort. The book makes it easier. It helps you with simple lifestyle changes and strategies to make new habits that you will keep for a lifetime. Although weight loss was not a part of the original DASH diet research, the book provides guidance and plans for adapting the DASH diet for successful weight loss. It is the place to find a 1200 calorie version of the DASH diet. Many women need to follow a lower calorie diet in order to lose weight. Although this book was not intended to be an aggressive weight loss program, many of our readers have reported 10 - 35 pound weight loss in a few months. The design of the meal plans in the book are based on newer research on how to make satisfying meals, helping prevent between meal hunger. That is a key feature of high-fiber, low caloric-density, balanced meals with appropriate serving sizes.