March 24, 2023—An eating plan developed by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently has made headlines as the “Harvard Diet” and has been touted for its potential to promote healthy aging
The Healthy Eating Plate is not actually a diet, but a visual guide for creating healthy and balanced meals. It depicts a plate divided into segments representing the proportion that each type of food should have in the diet: half the plate for vegetables and fruits, and a quarter each for healthy proteins like chicken and fish and for whole grains. The plan also recommends that people consume healthy plant oils in moderation; drink water, coffee, or tea instead of milk; and stay active.
“In terms of major chronic diseases like prevention of cardiovascular disease, different types of cancers [and] Type 2 diabetes, this way of eating is going to be helpful to prevent those diseases that are common in America and the world,” Lilian Cheung, lecturer of nutrition at Harvard Chan School and editorial director of The Nutrition Source, said in a March 19 CNBC article.
Read the CNBC article: The ‘Harvard diet’ may be the standard for living a long and healthy life—here’s what to know