Make the switch to healthier eating, for the sake of your heart
Adopting a heart healthy diet plan and lowering your cholesterol count can drastically reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.
To protect your heart, you need to eat a balanced diet that includes carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber, and less fat.
It is easier to make small changes day by day, than it is to try and change all of your eating habits at once. Making gradual adjustments to your diet will go a long way towards maintaining a healthy heart.
Foods to Choose/Foods to Avoid
Choose lean protein, such as skinless chicken, egg whites or egg substitutes, low-fat yogurt and cheese, skim milk, soybeans, lentils and peas.
Choose fish a few times a week. Fish that contain Omega-3 fats are said to be heart healthy. Try salmon, herring and mackerel. Other types of fish are good too, like halibut, cod and tuna.
Eat more whole grains. Whole wheat pastas, brown rice, whole grain breads, oatmeal, wheatgerm, whole-grain barley, and cereals high in fiber (5 grams or more per serving), are all good choices and contain useful nutrients that help regulate heart health and blood pressure.
Include more vegetables with your meals. You can choose frozen or fresh, but try a variety. There are numerous ways to prepare fresh vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, leaf lettuce, spinach, and asparagus.
Eat more fresh, seasonal fruits such as peaches, apples, pears, grapes, blueberries, and strawberries. Fruits contain phytochemicals, which help prevent heart disease.
Avoid foods high in saturated fat and trans fat. This list of healthy food choices will help you. Reduce the amount of butter, shortening and margarine you use in cooking and use olive or canola oil instead. Try low-fat yogurt or dressing on your baked potato instead of butter. Fast foods like fries, donuts and hamburgers are usually packed with unhealthy fats. Shun them.
Eat red meat less often. When you do eat red meat, choose lean cuts such as sirloin, round and flank steak.
Healthy Serving Sizes
You’ll need to re-evaluate portion sizes while changing over to your heart healthy diet plan. For pasta, one serving is ½ cup. A single serving of fish, poultry or meat weighs around 2 to 3 ounces (50-75g), and is no more than the size of a deck of playing cards, leaving more space on your plate for vegetables, whole-grains, and fruits.
Heart Healthy Meal Ideas
For breakfast, add sliced banana to your high fiber cereal and skim milk. Scramble a few egg whites and add grilled mushrooms or tomatoes. Whole grain bread topped with sugar-free jelly or jam is delicious.
Lunch can be quick, simple and healthy. A tuna or chicken sandwich on whole-grain bread topped with salad vegetables of your choice is excellent. A hot bowl of home made vegetable soup and a piece of fruit for dessert is perfect for cold days.
Stir-fry is a great dinner choice on a heart healthy diet plan. Just be careful with the amount of oil you use. Include your favourite vegetables such as peppers, onions, broccoli, eggplant, bok choy, baby corn, or courgette (zucchini). Add some shredded lean, skinless chicken, or some cubed tofu, and you’ll have a tasty and heart healthy meal. Or serve up some fish: bake or poach a salmon fillet, pair it with nutty brown rice and steamed broccoli and you’re set.
Plan your meals in advance, and look for healthy options when you shop. You'll find that switching to a heart healthy diet plan isn’t difficult; it’s simply a matter of making different choices.
