In an earlier era, the American Heart Assn. and the US federal government were closely aligned on what the American public should eat and why.
Dietary Guidelines from the Nonprofit Cardiovascular Research Organization largely reflected those published by the US Department of Health and Human Services and American Heart Association. The representatives advised the government on the science behind its dietary advice.
But as with many public health issues these days, the gap between policies recommended by established medical groups and those endorsed by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be widening.
On Tuesday, American Heart Assn. released its update guidelines for a heart-healthy diet. Like the new federal dietary guidelines released in januarythe document warns against processed foods and refined sugars.
But the group responded to some nutritional claims that Kennedy and Make America Healthy Again influencers have promoted in public statements and embodied in federal policy.
Unlike the new federally authorized inverted food pyramidthat gives maximum prominence to a huge cut of meat, a tray of ground beef, a hunk of cheese and a carton of whole milk, according to the American Heart Assn. encourages plant-based proteins over red meat and low-fat or fat-free dairy products over full-fat options.
In contrast to Kennedy's statement in January that the United States was “ending the war on saturated fat,” the heart association continues to recommend unsaturated fat sources over saturated ones for the sake of cardiovascular health.
The heart association also rejects Kennedy's much-publicized passion for beef tallow as a substitute for seed oils, which he himself has accused (despite shaky evidence) of “Poisoning” Americans.
“Animal fats (e.g., beef tallow and butter) and tropical oils (e.g., coconut oil, cocoa butter, and palm oil) are relatively high in saturated fat, while nontropical vegetable oils (e.g., soybean, canola, and olive oils) are relatively high in unsaturated fat,” the American Heart Assn. readings on paper. “In summary, as part of heart-healthy dietary patterns, non-tropical plant fat sources should be used as part of food preparation instead of animal fats and tropical oils.”
In response to questions, both the American Heart Assn. and the Department of Health and Human Services emphasized their shared goals over any differences.
“The American Heart Association [paper] “It is aligned with the Dietary Guidelines on the main themes: eating real foods, avoiding highly processed foods and limiting refined grains and added sugar,” said Health Department spokesman Andrew Nixon. “We look forward to working in collaboration with the [American Heart Assn.] evangelize these basic principles and reverse the epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases.”
The heart association and the federal government have different purposes in writing their recommendations, said Dr. Simin Liu, director of the UC Irvine Global Cardiometabolic Health and Nutrition Center and professor at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
The heart association guidelines are intended to reflect the best available evidence on nutrition and cardiovascular health outcomes, while the federal nutrition standards inform the content of federally funded meals served in schools, hospitals, and military cafeterias, and help determine the foods included in assistance plans such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The two sets of guidelines are not entirely at odds. the heart association applauded the government's warnings against added sugars, refined grains and processed foods in January, noting that the advice aligns with the organisation's recommendations long-standing recommendations.
“Those of us in the field have been pushing for food-based dietary recommendations, such as advocating for people to eat real foods instead of [processed] food products,” Liu said, but “the focus on the consumption of animal products is a little misplaced.”
The administration's enthusiastic endorsement of animal protein sources surprised many health groups, since a diet rich in red meat is strongly associated with worse cardiovascular health.
A supplemental report released alongside the federal guidelines noted that several members of the government's advisory panel had financial ties to meat and dairy industry groupsincluding the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Board and the California Dairy Research Foundation.
The heart association's guidelines better reflect the current scientific consensus on the relationship between food and cardiovascular health, said a spokesperson for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, and “will be a valuable resource for anyone who has been confused by the mixed messages” of previous government advice.
