On that day, the American Heart Association (AHA) went on record (in the journal Circulation) saying that every person in the United States, starting at age twenty, should be regularly evaluated for the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Why is the proclamation important?
The Association explains that because of current life style, diet, and genetic considerations, all young Americans need to be regularly assessed for heart health. But in my opinion, there is another very good reason for the proclamation: Instead of implicating whole segments of the food industry as producing products that are heart-unhealthy for the entire population, the medical community is in essence recognizing that certain specific individuals should be guided not to eat too much of particular foods or too much food in general.
This is a far cry from the black clouds that were cast over such things as dietary cholesterol and saturated fats (for everyone's benefit) starting fifty years ago. That medical mandate has had Americans fearful ever since. Among the many foods they've worried about whether they can safely consume have been milk and eggs, two of the most healthful foods known. Ours has been the era of low-fat/no-fat foods and falling milk consumption while obesity and diabetes have become epidemic. Ironically, it is beginning to appear that milk and certain milk products are an effective way to control weight. If that's true, it would be a shame if people continued to be frightened away from milk by the overly broad, decades-old warnings.
So, great idea AHA! It's a far better approach to determine who has what problem than to make eating a worrisome activity for everybody.
Stuart Patton, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus of food science from Pennsylvania State University and an ACSH Advisor.
