Heart healthy food:
List of topics
- Heart healthy food
- Pay attention to the fat you eat
- Quit salt
- Don’t skip vegetables (or fruits)
- Whole grains, refined grains and dietary fiber-my goodness!
- Picky about protein
- Remember, it’s all about following simple steps. Protect your heart and overall health
- Which of the above suggestions meet your health goals?
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for men and women in the United States. Although lifestyle factors such as maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly, it is important to maintain a healthy heart. But the food we choose to eat is also very important.
Healthy eating is one of the best weapons against heart disease and feeling healthy. In fact, choosing heart-healthy foods can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
When you are not sure where to start. Simple changes to your diet and nutrition habits are a good starting point to help you keep things organized and understand the reasons behind nutritional recommendations. Please consider the following tips.
Pay attention to the fat you eat
Fat is very important in your diet. In other words, you need it! However, there are different types of fats that can negatively affect heart health. In particular, trans fats and saturated fats are the two most concerned fats.
Both of these fats can affect blood cholesterol levels by lowering the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (also called good cholesterol) in the blood while increasing the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (also called bad cholesterol). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is out of the normal range or out of proportion.
It causes too much cholesterol to accumulate in the walls of blood vessels. Increase the risk of cardiovascular disease
Saturated fat foods include fatty meat, bacon, hot dogs, lamb, lard, cheese and other dairy products. Made with whole milk or 2% milk
Trans fats are naturally and artificially produced. Many fried foods and packaged products also contain high levels of trans fats.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults limit saturated fat intake to 5% to 6% of total calories. Trans fat should be less than 1% of total calorie intake.
Quit salt
And fatty sodium is an essential mineral for life. Sodium is essential for many body functions. Including fluid acid-base balance and muscle function signals. However, too much sodium brings risks. When the sodium in the blood increases, the water retention in the blood vessels will increase. Over time, the blood pressure will increase.
If the high blood pressure does not decrease, it will cause excessive pressure on the heart. It causes plaque to accumulate, which ultimately increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Sodium is a delicate ingredient, reducing sodium requires more effort and attention to detail. A good place to start reducing sodium intake is to check the nutrition label on the product.
The law requires companies to disclose their sodium content. Adding other ingredients to their products As mentioned above, sodium can be misleading and can be added to large amounts of food without your knowledge.
The only place where your favorite sodium hides is the food and food you order in restaurants. In fact, more than 75% of sodium intake comes directly from processed foods and restaurants (wow!), so help reduce sodium intake when choosing to eat out or take out. Don’t order salt on your plate.
Although these instructions may seem tricky, your sodium intake will be greatly reduced and your heart will be happy. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day..
This is about the size of a teaspoon of salt. (It is recommended to be less than 1500 mg for patients with chronic diseases over 50 years old)! Following these instructions will not only help you follow them. It can also reduce the risk of hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, and various diseases of the kidneys.
Don’t skip vegetables (or fruits)
As we all know, eating fruits and vegetables is an important part of a healthy diet. Reduced product consumption is related to health problems and increased risk of serious diseases.
In fact, about 3.9 million people worldwide died due to insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables (2017). Adding fruits and vegetables to your daily diet cannot be ruled out.
Mixing fruits and vegetables is that simple! Whether they are frozen, canned or fresh, they are nutritious. If you have trouble adding fruits and vegetables to your diet. Start slowly and try to gradually increase the amount of fruit or vegetables throughout the day.
If you only eat one serving of fruit or vegetables per meal. Instead, add one at lunch and one at dinner. Slowly add fruits and vegetables to your plate. This will make this technique less overwhelming.
The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables: everything is fine! AHA recommends filling at least half a plate of fruits and vegetables for the recommended 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables every day. Although this suggestion seems impossible. But don’t forget that all products are important.
This means that canned, fresh or frozen products can help you achieve your goals. Improve your diet and improve your health
Whole grains, refined grains and dietary fiber-my goodness!
Let us first understand whole grains, refined grains and fiber. Whole grains consist of whole seeds. It consists of 3 parts: rice bran, germ and endosperm.
It provides all important nutrients such as B vitamins, folic acid, fiber, iron and magnesium. In turn, refined grains are ground and processed. This will deplete the grains of the aforementioned nutrients.
There are two forms of dietary fiber: insoluble and soluble. Increasing fiber intake is associated with lower levels of “bad” cholesterol (remember: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and a lower risk of heart disease. Another benefit is that high-fiber foods can help you feel fuller for longer and reduce calorie intake.
High-fiber foods are usually whole grains, so increasing your intake of whole grains means you also increase your fiber intake. Why not kill two birds with a stone and use whole wheat instead?
Adding whole grains can help improve blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Stroke, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The AHA recommends that at least half of the grains you eat are whole grains..
You consume 28 grams of fiber every day, including whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole oats, barley and other foods.
Picky about protein
For many of us, meat is the main source of protein, however, more popular sources of meat include burgers, steaks, and bacon.
It is an important source of saturated fat. (Reminder: “Bad fat”) Eating large amounts of this protein will increase your risk of a variety of health complications, including obesity, high cholesterol, plaque buildup, and of course heart disease and disease.
Cerebrovascular Switching to heart-healthy protein sources can greatly reduce these risks and maintain a heart-healthy diet.
Changing habits “Eating meat” can be difficult. But this is not necessarily impossible. A simple technique to control protein and meat intake is to include meat as part of the diet.
Instead of the main event, try to limit your meat to 180 grams per day, which is 2 servings (hint: 1 serving = bridge size).
When it comes to heart-healthy protein sources, AHA recommendations include fish, shellfish, and skinless poultry. Cutting meat with lean meats, such as sliced pork, starting to incorporate these alternative protein sources into your diet can help you maintain a healthy heart.
Remember, it’s all about following simple steps. Protect your heart and overall health
Eating a heart-healthy diet is the best way to prevent heart disease and stroke. Starting today, use these heart-healthy tips and continuously evaluate your diet.
Don’t let heart disease occupy your world. Make changes that best suit your lifestyle and health goals.
Which of the above suggestions meet your health goals?
Bonnie R. Guiller is a nutritionist. Diabetes educator and certified gastroenterologist. It can help chronic dieters, emotional addicts and people with health problems such as diabetes destroy their diet. And regain the trust of WholeBody™, allowing them to live the most fulfilling lives.
To this end, she created a customized solution that combines the three pillars of WholeBody Trust™: Mind Trust, Hunger Trust, and Food Trust™.