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Eat Healthy for a Healthy HeartA heart healthy diet is critical to reducing your risk of heart disease. A healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, lean meats, legumes, and limited saturated fats, trans fat and cholesterol. Find out how you can make the right food choices and improve your long term heart health.
A heart healthy diet is one important way to lower your chances of getting heart disease. Improve your diet by including foods that are:
- Low in fat
- Low in cholesterol
- Low in sodium
- Lower calories
- High in fiber
Reduce fat
Not all fats are the same: certain types of fats are more likely to cause heart disease—specifically, saturated fats and trans fats (in foods such as butter, ghee, kulfi, processed foods)
- Replace foods high in fat with those high in:
- Monounsaturated and polyunsatured fats (“good fats”), found in olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds, or seafood
- Avoid or reduce intake of foods that have high fat content, such as:
- Certain meats, such as beef, lamb, goat
- Palm and coconut oils
- Whole milk, ghee, or paneer
- Fried foods such as samosas and pakoras
Reduce cholesterol
High levels of cholesterol in the body can lead to heart disease. Foods from animals (meat, eggs, milk) have cholesterol. Foods from plants (fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts) do not. To maintain a healthy level of cholesterol in the body:
- Eat lean meats such as chicken, fish, and turkey
- Eat low-fat or fat free milk, yogurt (dhai), and egg whites
Reduce Sodium
Lowering sodium intake can reduce blood pressure. High blood pressure is a risk factor to develop heart disease.
- Sodium is something we need in our diets, but most of us eat too much of it.
- Much of the sodium we eat comes from salt we add to our home cooked meals or to foods prepared by food companies.
- Avoid adding salt to foods at the table.
Reduce calories
Controlling your calories will help you maintain an appropriate weight. To help reduce calories:
- Avoid foods with empty calories, such as beverages and snacks with added sugars
- Watch the amount of food you eat during meals
Eat More Fiber
Fiber is important in lowering cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends eating 25-30 grams of dietary fiber everyday. There are simple ways to increase fiber in your diet:
- Eat more raw vegetables and fruit
- Replace white grains with whole wheat bread, brown rice, oats, and whole wheat pasta
“My husband hates plain brown rice and as a compromise, I throw in a little white rice into the rice cooker. I use the short grain brown rice and put in an extra 1/2 cup of water so it really cooks it and its not as hard and chewy.”
Rathi
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Prepare favorite dishes by replacing unhealthy foods with heart healthy options. Try the simple tips below.
| If you use: |
Replacement options: |
| Whole or 2 percent milk, and cream |
Use 1 percent or skim milk |
| Lard, butter, palm, and coconut oils |
Cook with unsaturated vegetable oils, such as corn, olive, canola, safflower, sesame, soybean, sunflower, or peanut |
| Fatty cuts of meat, such as lamb or goat |
Request lean cuts of meat from meat counter. If asked, butchers will usually trim the fat. |
| One whole egg in recipes |
Use two egg whites |
| Cream based curry |
Use plain low-fat yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, or low-fat or “light” sour cream |
| Whole milk paneer and processed cheese |
Eat low-fat, low-sodium cheeses/paneer |
| Salted potato chips and other snacks |
Choose nuts, seeds, and plain puffed rice mumra |
Read the food label
When shopping for ingredients and prepared foods, read food labels to determine nutritional content of the foods you purchase. Each food item has “Nutrition Facts” printed on the packaging. To start buying foods that are heart healthy, make sure the following has a “Daily Value” of 5% or less for:
For more detailed help in reading food labels, check out the How to Use and Understand the Nutrition Food Label guide.
Source: Adapted from the US Food and Drug Administration: www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/hlyheart.html
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