A Healthy Heart is Not Just About a Healthy Diet

This Original article was written by Roger Michaelson

heart healthy diet plan

For anyone who has been diagnosed with heart disease or is simply concerned with ways to prevent it, you’ll be interested to know that a strict, heart healthy diet is not the only key to maintaining a healthy heart. In fact, the main component is actually an overall healthy lifestyle. Because even if you’re on the best diet in the universe, if you’re not active and especially if you smoke, the effort you’re making is basically futile. But the goods news is that 80 percent of heart disease can be prevented with a proper balance of good eating habits and exercise.

Ø  Decrease the amount of your usual salt intake, particularly if you have high blood pressure.

Ø  Cut back on cholesterol by choosing to eat low-fat or fat-free products in addition to more lean meats.

Ø  Lessen your consumption of foods and drinks that have a high sugar content.

Ø  Avoid foods that are high in saturated and trans fats whenever possible, e.g. snacks and salad dressings.

Ø  Eat more fish, specifically the varieties that contain higher levels of Omego 3 like Wild Salmon and Lake Trout.

Ø  Incorporate more high fiber and whole grain foods into your diet.

Ø  Eat as much freshly prepared fruits and vegetables as you can.

Ø  When dining out, choose healthy menu options.

Ø  Limit any alcohol consumption.

Ø  Get at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 or more times a week

Ø  Don’t Smoke!

Are you following a heart healthy diet? Base your decisions on the results of those answers and take smaller steps at first if that’s what you’re comfortable with. Walking is one of the best and easiest ways to help you get fit and maintain a healthy heart. Now, if you’ve got to make some changes, whether small or substantial, no one’s expecting you to work wonders overnight. But you’ve got to make the effort, and you’ve got to do it on a consistent basis.

A plan for a heart healthy diet and lifestyle is something that you will become accustomed to and will benefit greatly from during your long(er) lifetime.

Low Fat Diets May Not Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

This Original article was written by Meri Raffetto

For years we’ve heard that to protect yourself from heart disease you should follow a “low fat” diet. Even many hospitals and health professionals still stick to this rule of low fat diets at the risk of omitting heart healthy foods. One of the reports showed that postmenopausal women who followed a low fat (20% of calories from fat) diet did not have a lower risk of heart disease. This makes things confusing since we have been taught for years that low fat equals better heart health. The two go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. Before we all ditch the low fat model and rush to eat our favorite high fat fare there are a few more pieces to this puzzle to know.

Limitations or no limitations the study still shows that postmenopausal women who likely were following a fairly low fat diet still were shown not to improve their heart health. The old general low fat diet is no longer the most effective heart healthy diet. A matter of fact, some fats are shown to protect our heart. There are fats that are protective and fats that are shown to increase risk. So sticking with lean meats such as poultry and fish, and choosing low fat dairy products is still a good choice. The second fat to decrease is Trans Fats which are found in many packaged convenience foods including certain margarines, crackers, and chips. Trans Fats are now located on the nutrition label under “Fats”.

Now, just because a food is high in fat or all fat doesn’t mean it will put us at risk of heart disease. For example fats found in nuts, olive oil, canola oil, avocados, flax seeds, and fish oils have been found to be protective for the heart by helping to lower cholesterol and decrease inflammation. This wouldn’t go along with the old rule of the low fat diet. There is a proper balance of adding healthy fats to the diet, around 30% of calories from fat.
A Heart Healthy diet is not just about the fats. For example, blueberries are one power player for heart health by providing antioxidants and research supports that it can lower cholesterol. This person may need to follow a little lower fat than the other since fat does carry a lot of calories.

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