Advising people to have a varied diet could encourage them to eat foods that are not so good for their health in addition to those that are. Instead, the emphasis should be on “health[ful] eating patterns” with sufficient amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, low-fat dairy foods, and vegetable oils, while limiting consumption of red meats, sugar-sweetened drinks, and sweets, and enhance physical activity.

This is the main message of a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association and corresponds word by word to what we tell our clients following a Re-Education Food and Behaviour Program.