From low-fat to low-carb, there are dozens of popular diets to choose from. With an overflow of fad diets, how do patients sort out the science from the hype? The best advice is to avoid diet labels altogether and emphasize to patients with prediabetes the underlying principles of a healthy diet.
The AMA Ed Hub™, your personalized learning hub from trusted sources, offers CMEs on a wide range of topics, including Nutrition Science for Health and Longevity: What Every Doctor Needs to Know, to help doctors start an effective conversation about nutrition with patients. The four-hour course, at your own pace, is developed and led by the Gaples Institute for Integrative Cardiologya non-profit organization focused on improving the role of nutrition and lifestyle in healthcare, and is distributed in collaboration with the AMA Ed Hub.
“Diet labels are seductive, but the truth is that a range of eating behaviors can be hidden behind a single diet name. So it’s important to look beyond the labels and help patients understand them. learn more about the fundamentals of healthy eating,” said Stephen Devries, MD, cardiologist and executive director of the Gaples Institute.
“For example, ‘low-fat’ or ‘low-carb’ diets are vague terms because they suggest a broad category of foods to avoid, but do not specify which foods should be encouraged,” she said. he adds.
Even incremental changes are helpful, because most people can’t make major changes all at once.
Focus on the principles of healthy eating
Focus on the principles of healthy eating
What do we really know about healthy eating?
“Given all the conflicting reports about diet put forward in the media, patients, as well as many health professionals, are left with the false impression that the science of healthy eating is not sufficiently established to offer valid recommendations,” said Dr. Devries.
Although there is still much to learn, there is much that clinical nutrition science has consensus on. Some basic truths, well recognized but not yet integrated into the diets of most Americans, include the need to eat more vegetables and fruits and reduce consumption of added glucose, especially in sugary drinks.
And for most people, a transition to a diet consisting of more plant-based foods and fewer animal-based foods is clearly helpful. Doctors should emphasize healthy plant sources of protein, including beans, seeds, whole grains, lentils and nuts.
Eat healthier fats. Another dietary change to encourage is switching to healthier fats. Rather than focusing on total fat intake, the best advice is to prioritize foods containing healthier types of fats, including polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, Dr. Devries said. These include nuts, olives, avocados, flax and fish. For culinary oils, encourage patients to use extra virgin olive oil and avoid heating oils to the point of smoking.
Make small changes
Make small changes
It is generally not practical or helpful to recommend that patients make multiple dietary changes at once. As described in the last module of nutritional program which focuses on practical advice for integrating meaningful nutritional advice into a busy clinical practice, a useful strategy with patients is to focus on one nutrition topic during each clinic visit.
Topics to consider include:
- Reduce or eliminate sugary drinks and replace them with water.
- Add an extra serving of vegetables or fruit to each meal.
- Reduce or eliminate meat, especially processed meat.
AMA members are entitled to a 20 percent discount on Gaples Institute CME Modules. Contact the Unified Service Center for the discount code at (800) 262-3211 or (email protected). AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is available.
