The battle of the healthiest heart diets
The Journal of the American Dietetic Association released an intriguing report on weight-loss programs.
Rather than focus just on weight loss, they looked at reducing the risk of heart disease, and how several of the popular diets stacked up against one another.
The Ornish diet plan came out on top as the best plan to prevent heart disease. It focuses on a whole-foods diet rich in grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables, limited fats, and avoiding saturated fat and sugar.
According to this report, the Atkins plan did not fare so well, coming in dead last for improving heart health. Of course, the Atkins plan has long been a kicking post for the FDA, who made it their mission to drag it from one end of the mud to the other. Many folks on Atkins saw their HDL ("good") cholesterol go up and their triglyceride levels go down. Seems to me that even if the diet violates a sacred cow or two, it most certainly improves some key indicators of heart health.
But this particular study was based on the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), which takes into account specific factors. It looks at the daily intake of fats, fiber, fruit, vegetables, nuts, soy products, and the type of meat, to determine whether or not a diet has a positive impact on heart health.
Scores can range up to 70. The Ornish plan received a ranking of 64.6. The Atkins plan came in at a 42.3.
Other plans that were considered include Weight Watchers, the Zone, the South Beach diet, and even the USDA's MyPyramid scale. The newer food guide has had many detractors ever since its unveiling in 2005. According to this index, it landed smack in the middle of the scale—certainly not a "heartening" result.
The study authors were quick to point out that a low score did not necessarily mean the diet was unhealthy. They noted that any diet that results in weight loss can be a healthy boost to your heart. It's recommended that people who have, or are at risk for, heart disease use this study as a guide in finding a plan that works for them.
I say the best diet plan is the one you'll stick with. It shouldn't be based on severe deprivation or sticking with just one food group for a "magic bullet" result. Those diets cause more problems than they help.
My patients report that sticking with the basics that I recommend (grains, lean range-fed meats, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats) has been more effective for them than anything else. It's easy to incorporate changes into their meal planning, without a lot of fuss—because it's similar to the way they've always eaten, only now its modified with healthier choices.
While this recommendation sounds very similar to the Ornish program, the difference is that with Ornish, the emphasis is on very low-calorie and low-fat eating, with a vegetarian focus. A lot of folks won't respond well to the complete removal of meat from their diet, and I don't think that's necessary. Also, being such an extremely low-fat diet, it may work in the short-term, but it's very difficult to sustain in the long-term. You need fat, not just because it's satisfying and filling, but also because it performs important regulatory and structural functions in your body. Research shows that after one year, most people cannot tolerate a low-fat diet.
Conspicuous for its absence in this study is a Mediterranean-type diet, which is anything but low fat, and it most certainly is not a vegetarian diet. It's not so much a diet as it is a healthy, traditional way of eating. That's quite unlike the made-up diets included in this study that are nothing more than the counterpart to the lethal, industrialized, processed and chemical-laden disaster we know as the Standard American Diet (SAD).
Be smart and listen to your own body and common sense. There's no rule in the book that says you can't mix-and-match to find what works best for you. As long
as you're eating a whole-foods diet, I don't care what you call it.
