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What if the solution to our nation’s biggest health problems lies in an often overlooked answer: the way we eat?
Dr. William Manger, the founder of the National Hypertension Association and an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at New York University, holds so much belief in this theory that his recently published book, “Live Longer, Live Better: Avoid the Risks”—which he wrote with Dr. Edward Roccella as the second edition of “Our Greatest Threats: Live Longer, Live Better”—goes into depth about how important it is to prevent health conditions like obesity, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure before they arise.
“It’s very important, I think, for the public to know how important eating and exercise are in maintaining proper health,” Dr. Manger said during an interview in his Southampton home. “We have a serious crisis in our country with improper eating, exercise and drug usage.”
With obesity rates at an all-time high, and only continuing to rise, he believes this is an appropriate time for a book like this to hit the shelves.
The book, which Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Joseph Loscalzo considers “required reading in our society,” doesn’t discuss how to reverse disease, but rather how to prevent it before it even begins.
“Preventing something is certainly better than having to treat it,” Dr. Manger explained. “Americans have gotten more obese than people of any other country in the world, and it doesn’t have to be that way. For example, simply reducing salt consumption of adult Americans by half would save 150,000 lives each year. It’s incredible.”
Dr. Manger’s book advocates the D.A.S.H. diet, or, a dietary approach to stop hypertension. The diet emphasizes portion control and foods that are low in sodium and fat and high in potassium, magnesium and calcium, which includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fish. “The American Heart Association, National Cancer Institute and National High Blood Pressure Education Program really back this D.A.S.H. diet; they say it’s the best diet that’s ever come out,” Dr. Manger assured. If properly executed, the diet can decrease blood pressure and aid in maintaining proper health all around.
“I think if we can really push the D.A.S.H. diet, it could be of great help to the health of our country, he said.
The book also advises the need for Americans to reduce portion sizes, and Dr. Manger provides charts that show the drastic increase in how much food is served at American restaurants since the 1950s.
“We’re eating far too much,” he said. “Too much of the wrong things.”
What caused such a growth in our portion sizes? It’s difficult to pinpoint an answer, but Dr. Manger believes it has to do with the large corporations supplying these foods.
“The food and beverage corporations have taken over and really gotten to the youth of the nation,” he said. “We haven’t done enough to try and prevent their influence.”
Speaking of the youth, in hopes of nipping obesity and disease in the bud before it can begin, Dr. Manger believes there’s no better place to start than with children.
“Our children are growing up in a really toxic environment, especially in regards to sugary beverages,” he warned. “There’s an erosion of exercise; kids are sitting around four to six hours a day watching television and not getting the exercise they need, and that’s a tragedy, because exercise is extremely important.”
A simple solution, Dr. Manger suggests, is to demand that nutrition classes be implemented in public schools.
“In private schools they do teach about proper nutrition and how to eat the right things, but in public schools they don’t teach that,” he explained. “It’s just sad. I think that’s one of the deficits that exists in our society.”
Dr. Manger believes that if everyone began following the D.A.S.H. diet today, obesity and the diseases associated with it could be annihilated by the next generation of Americans.
“Educate children at an early age. Parents should set an example to their children for proper nutrition,” Dr. Manger advised. “Never starting an unhealthy lifestyle is easier than giving it up.”
Dr. Manger will be having a book signing for “Live Longer, Live Better: Avoid the Risks” at Ann Madonia Antiques on Jobs Lane in Southampton Village on Saturday, August 26, at 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-283-1878.
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on Aug 17, 2017