Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc., FAHA, senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Team at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, is chair of the writing group for the American Heart Asociation scientific statement, “2021 Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health”.

copyright American Heart Association 2021

"I think nutrition education is very important because we want there to be a consistent message, whether it comes from physicians, whether it's things that children learn in schools and it's the types of messages that are out there in the media. And there are a couple of important points here. The first is it's important to educate children from grades K through 12 age-appropriate activities. So they know where their food comes from and how it impacts on their health. It will also allow them to use the types of nutrition information that are available and are constantly evolving in a way that's going to be helpful to them. In terms of health care professionals, again, it's important to emphasize the importance of dietary patterns throughout the life cycle. It's important to monitor patient's adherence to various suggestions that are made in terms of modifying their diet to making healthier and it, the critical issue is that there be consistency across all of the different types of information that they get."