Eating a healthy diet that is low in fat, high in fiber
and rich in fruits and vegetables may seem fraught with
sacrifice, but it actually adds to a sense of personal
satisfaction, according to a new study.
Previous
studies have shown that people who follow this type
of diet reduce their risks of developing heart disease,
some forms of cancer, stroke and diabetes.
"Participants
who adopted and maintained the [study] eating plan for
four years reported greater confidence in their ability
to care for their health, greater belief that food choices
would improve health and more awareness of health and
nutrition messages," says lead author Donald Corle
of the National Cancer Institute.
All
the participants in this study had experienced a polyp
in their large bowel; 194 people agreed to change their
diets to prevent a recurrence and 200 people continued
their typical eating regimen. On average, study participants
were about 60 years old when the study began in 1993.
"Contrary
to common perceptions of low-fat diets, participants
did not report any detrimental effects of the eating
plan on taste, cost, the convenience of shopping for
and preparing foods, their overall health assessment
and general well-being or satisfaction with life,"
Corle says.
The
study is published in the August issue of the Annals
of Behavioral Medicine,
Those
on the healthy diet were counseled to obtain approximately
20 percent of their calories from fat, to consume 18
grams of dietary fiber per 1,000 calories and to have
three-and-a-half servings of fruits and vegetables per
1,000 calories. This worked out to five-to-eight servings
per day.
The
participants also kept detailed records of the food
they ate and received more than 60 hours of counseling
on behavior modification techniques and nutrition, which
included assistance with meal preparation and recipe
modification, .
Over
a four-year period, participants were asked to rate
the effect of their dietary changes.
The
questions asked of the participants "focus on changes
in self-perceived physical and emotional well-being,
satisfaction with diet and self-care," the investigators
say. "Our findings suggest that a low-fat, high-fiber,
fruit and vegetable-enriched eating plan can be adopted
without negative impact on overall perception of quality
of life."
The
only hint of difficulty was in maintaining the diet
while eating away from home, with those eating the healthier
diet reporting more problems when eating with others
than did people who did not modify their diets. This
aspect of eating requires more research, Corle notes.
Corle
speculates that the counseling, combined with increased
availability of low-fat products in supermarkets, helped
make the healthier diet more convenient for participants.
"In
fact, many positive changes in quality of life perceptions
were reported by participants. These data provide evidence
that adoption of a low-fat, high-fiber, and high fruit-vegetable
eating plan can be recommended without fear of negative"
results, Corle says.
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