Dietary considerations for heart health

Are you looking for ways to start a healthy lifestyle? Look at your diet first. Eating only a small amount of food will affect the heart, weight and overall health; But making a small, sustainable change to improve your diet will have a lasting impact. There are a lot of misinformation about the benefits of food for heart health, which may surprise you. You don't need foreign fruits, imported nuts or even expensive supplements. You can also reduce your risk of heart disease by making wise choices at home and at your favorite grocery stores and restaurants.

Dietary considerations for heart health

Pay attention to fruits and vegetables

Most Americans recommend eating at least five servings a day, but all kinds of vegetables, fruits and pigments should be the core of a heart-healthy diet. They are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which promote heart and body health. Their filling and low calorie can promote weight management. Fresh, frozen, dried, canned (without sugar/syrup or salt), raw and cooked fruits and vegetables are good for you. Here are more suggestions for putting them in your food and snacks.

Don't rely too much on its juice and processed "fruit" snacks.

Fruit-filled breakfast cakes are mainly sugar, not real fruit. Although a small amount of 100% juice can develop healthy eating habits, they also concentrate sugar on the whole fruit, which is also beneficial to heart-healthy fiber, while juice does not. Learn how fruit juice becomes a healthy eating habit.

Monitor your sodium intake.

Our bodies need this mineral, but the quantity is less than what we usually eat. In order to prevent hypertension and heart disease, a healthy goal is that sodium should not exceed 1500 mg per day. Remember, it doesn't just come from salt; Processed foods, frozen main courses, canned vegetables, common condiments (such as ketchup), cooked meat (such as sausages) and cheese (including cheese) have high sodium content, and many restaurant dishes.

Don't forget to add sugar

Most people know that sugar is not healthy food. It provides fast absorption of carbohydrates, but it has no real nutrition (such as vitamins and minerals). Although many people associate sugar with diabetes, few people realize that sugar plays the same role in heart disease and dietary fat. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who consume low levels of high-density lipoprotein, "good" cholesterol and triglycerides increase their risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 6 spoonfuls of sugar every day (about 100 calories); For men, it is 9 teaspoons per day (150 calories). An ounce of coke has about 130 calories, or eight spoonfuls of sugar.

Reduce fat

In order to reduce the risk of heart disease, you need to choose the right type of fat and make sure that you don't eat too much fat. Regardless of the source of fat, most adults will eat too much fat, so reducing dietary fat is the first step of a good heart-healthy diet. This is why we choose low-fat products. Eating less barbecue or barbecue and reducing fat (such as oil, ghee and lard) is an important first step to reduce your fat intake. Avoid fats and improve your cholesterol level: trans fats (baked goods and many margarines found in hydrogenated oils) and saturated fats (usually found in high-fat meat and dairy products, including beef, mutton, pork, poultry, beef fat, butter, cheese and all dairy products, and some baked goods and fried foods contain palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil). About 25-35% of calories come from fat. People consume 1500 calories and 4 1-58 grams of fat every day. SparkPeople's nutritious diet plan and scope conform to this guiding principle.

Don't be afraid of all the fat.

Studies have shown that moderate drinking can reduce the risk of some cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary heart disease.

Moderate drinking is defined as 1 cup per day for women and 2 cups per day for men. Find out whether moderate drinking is suitable for you, and talk to your doctor about your alcohol consumption, medical history and any drugs you use. .

A high-fiber diet helps to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Some types of fiber can help lower low-density lipoprotein "bad" cholesterol. Adults should eat 20-30 grams a day. In order to meet your daily limit, choose a variety of unprocessed plant foods every day, including whole grains (oats, whole wheat bread/flour/grains, fruits and vegetables, beans.

Don't forget the cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy fatty substance in animal hepatocytes. Therefore, in animal products (meat, poultry, dairy products and eggs). Eating high cholesterol in the diet can lead to heart disease. To prevent heart disease, limit your dietary cholesterol intake to no more than 300 mg per day. If your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level has increased, or you are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, the goal is even lower: 200 mg per day.