Published on April 25, 2007 in Nutrition & Diets
What is a heart healthy diet? This diet is an eating plan for you and your family and serves to help keep your
blood cholesterol low and to prevent heart diseases. Children under the age of 2 should not follow this heart healthy diet
as they are still too young and need more fats at this stage to provide enough calories for growth and development.
Diet Guidelines
Your diet for a healthy heart should comprises the following:
- Saturated Fats: 8-10% of your total calories in a day
- Trans Fats: Less than 1% of your total calories in a day
- Dietary Cholesterol: Not more than 300 milligrams a day, 200 milligrams
if you have high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
- Sodium: Not more than 2400 milligrams a day
- Calories: Sufficient to maintain a healthy body weight and also reduce your blood cholesterol level
Ask your doctor or dietitian what should be the appropriate calorie level for you.
Fats & Cholesterol
A high blood cholesterol level is a high risk factor that can potentially lead to heart attack and stroke.
This is due to a buildup of plaque in your arteries. You may wish to read
Nitric Oxide, your remedy to Cerebrovascular Disease for more information.
By reducing saturated fats and trans fats intake, you can reduce your LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and reduce the risk of developing
coronary artery disease.
In fact, trans fats are not required by our body and has no known benefits to our health. In general, trans fats from
hydrogenated oils are considered to be more harmful than those forming naturally.
Below is a list of healthy/healthier source of fats and oils you can use for your food, and unhealthy ones that you should avoid.
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Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA)
- Oil - oliver, canola, peanut, walnut, seasame, soybean, grape seed
- Nuts - macadamias, hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, cashew, walnuts, pine nuts
- Seeds - seasame, pumpkin, sunflower
- Butter - peanut, almond, sunflower seed, seasame
- Others - black olives, green olives, avocado
Others
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Cholesterol-lowering margarine
- Trans fat-free margarine
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Trans Fatty Acids
- Lard
- Processed snacks such as cookies and crackers
- Hydrogenated margarine
Saturated Fatty Acids
- Coconut oil, palm oil and palm-kernel oils
- Meat, such as bacon
- Diary products
- Butter, such as cocoa butter
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Protein
Proteins are the main building block of our muscles, organs and glands. Children need protein for growth and development.
But do you know that to synthesis protein, our body needs approximately 20 amino acids. Protein that supplies
enough essential amino acids are called complete protein. All meat and animal products are sources of complete proteins.
But before choosing your meat, you must also consider the unhealthy fats in them. Therefore, it is imperative that
you look for low-fat options in your protein sources. Below is a list of high protein, low-fat food.
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- Fish, especially fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring
- Cuts of beef or pork that are low in fat
- Skinless poultry, such as chicken
- Egg whites
- Nuts, seeds and legumes
- Low-fat or non-fat milk
- low-fat or non-fat dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese
- Soybeans and soy products
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- Animal organ meats, such as liver
- Egg yolks
- Spareribs
- Cold cuts
- Beef burgers, bacon, salami, hot dogs and sausages
- Fried, breaded or canned meats
- Full-fat milk and dairy products
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Whole Grains
Whole grains are cereal grains which do not have their bran, germ and endosperm removed.
Refined grains only retain the endosperm. So why is whole grains healthier than refined ones?
They are a great source of nutrients, which includes fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates.
A little more on the carbohydrates, whole grains gives low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates. This means that such carbohydrates
do not increase much of your blood sugar (glucose),
which is important as this increase can cause obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Eating whole grains can regulate your heart health and blood pressure, and its easy to start doing so now. Below is a list
of food products from whole grains and refined grains, simply substitute your intake with the
healthier alternatives.
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- Brown rice
- Wild rice
- Popcorn
- Oatmeal
- Whole Cornmeal
- Cracked wheat (bulgur)
- Whole-wheat flour
- Whole-grain bread, pasta, crackers, tortillas, sandwich
- High-fiber cereal with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving
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- Degermed Cornmeal
- Muffins
- White bread
- Quick breads
- White rice
- Egg noodles
- Flour or corn tortillas
- Frozen waffles
- Cornbread
- Doughnuts
- Biscuits
- Granola bars
- Cakes
- Pies
- Buttered popcorn
- Pasta
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