IHA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
847-692-0110

Healthy Cooking Is The Foundation of Good Health, Says Weil Lifestyle Founder
Dr. Andrew Weil 

CHICAGO, IL (March 11, 2007)—Good health and the future of our society begins in our kitchens, Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., founder of Weil Lifestyle, LLC and an educator at the University of Arizona, said today at the 2007 International Home & Housewares Show.

Owned and operated by the International Housewares Association (www.housewares.org), the Show is being held March 11-13 at McCormick Place here, and features nearly 2,100 exhibitors from around the world, including almost 500 new companies introducing thousands of new products.

In his keynote presentation, “The Healthy Kitchen,” Dr. Weil said that healthy food can be fun and does not necessarily mean giving up foods that we enjoy. He said that we should strive each day to prepare meals that are quick, delicious and healthy, and that doing so can reduce the risk of age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Weil said he feels so strongly about healthy eating because he predicts that soon healthcare will be the number one domestic political issue, ranked higher than national terrorism.

“Poor eating habits impacts all of us,” he said. “Our nutritional habits are in peril, as evidenced by an increase in obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in children. The root of the problem is that manufactured and fast foods have replaced whole foods in our diets. We have to break the dependence on processed food.”

Dr. Weil also noted that high-quality, healthy cookware is an integral part of healthy cooking. “Cookware not only has to look good and contain good materials, it has to feel good to use. If it’s not user friendly, and fortunately, most of the cookware available is user friendly, then people won’t use it,” he said.

Dr. Weil also stressed the importance of creating and maintaining an optimum diet, one that contains few Omega 6 fatty acids and more Omega 3 fatty acids and breaks the dependence upon processed foods. He suggested there are two diets that are associated with good health: the Japanese diet and the Mediterranean diet, both of which are low in fat, sugar, and meat; contain many vegetables; and are easily adaptable around the world. 

But he added that educating people about an optimum diet is an enormous task.

“It all begins with how medicine is taught,” he said. “Nutrition is not part of the curriculum in medicine and thus, many doctors cannot answer basic questions about how to eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle.”

“I am working to improve our food by teaching our future doctors and medical students,” he said. “It’s a huge job, and we all have to work together. If we don’t, we face an economic, health, and social disaster. We can take control of our health. The good news is that more companies are moving in the right direction. Consumers are increasingly demanding healthy food and products, and more companies will soon follow.”

The International Housewares Association is the 69-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (US) $301 billion at retail worldwide in 2005. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, the International Home & Housewares Show, and offers its 1,700 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer panel data through Housewares Market Watch, executive management peer groups, a unique community at www.housewares.org, and group buying discounts on business services.