Hot Topics Series: What to Eat, August 31, 2007, Harvard Public Health NOW

What can we eat to help ensure a long and healthy life?

Unfortunately, there is no "magic bullet,'' no single food nor any one diet that can do this for us, said Eric Rimm, a nutritional epidemiologist and associate professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition at HSPH. He delivered a talk entitled, "Hungry? The Latest on What to Eat and Why'' on August 3 as part of the School's "Hot Topics'' series.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could come up with a miracle diet you could have for the rest of your life - one thing that you can do, and you won't gain weight, and you'll live to 95,'' asked Rimm. "But it's very unlikely that something that will reduce your risk of heart disease is going to impact your risk of cancer or Alzheimer's in the same way. There just isn't going to be one perfect diet that reduces your risk of everything.''

The country's obesity problem is a huge health threat, he noted, and stems from the fact that modern human physiology can't compensate for no longer having to hunt and gather food. "Our need to burn energy has gone down, and what we have available to eat has gone up,'' he said.

Various diets, from the low-fat diet to the high-carb Atkins diet, usually succeed in causing weight loss at first, but studies show that people on such diets eventually gain the weight back because they are unable to comply with the strict rules of the diets.

"Most people can't stay on them,'' he said.

Culprits for obesity include trans fats, which are found in margarines, store-bought baked goods, and fast food products, he said. Fortunately, trans fats appear to be on the way out, with some cities banning them outright and some fast food chains phasing them out, he noted.

But all fats are not unhealthy, he noted. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, are extremely good for reducing the risk of heart disease, for example.

"Just one or two servings of fish per week and you see a dramatic reduction in heart disease,'' he said.

There are a number of things that can be done to help ensure general health, said Rimm. These are outlined in the book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by HSPH Professor Walter Willett and include eating lots of vegetables, saying "yes" to good fats, upgrading carbohydrates, choosing healthy proteins, staying hydrated, drinking alcohol in moderation, taking a multivitamin daily, exercising, and eating mindfully.

For more information, visit the Nutrition Source website.

—ML