Heart disease is one of the west's biggest killers but there are simple steps you can take to minimize your risk. By making the decision to eat for a healthy heart, you can eliminate many of the causes of heart disease as well as other health conditions.
There are three main health conditions that contribute to heart disease. These are high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol and being overweight. Others include smoking and lack of exercise. By adopting a healthy eating regime, you can reduce the effect of the three main factors. Giving up smoking and taking more exercise is a subject for another article.
So how can we reduce cholesterol?
The biggest dietary cause of high cholesterol is saturated fats. This is found in meat, milk, butter, cheese, eggs and many processed foods. When shopping for food make sure to check the levels of saturated fat and only choose foods with a low level. Unlike Saturated fat, monounsaturated fats such as olive oil will help you to protect your heart. Olive oil is an ideal choice for cooking, dressing, or even as a dipping sauce.
Another food product that helps reduce cholesterol is omega-3. Omega-3 is a fatty acid that is noted to have many health benefits besides helping to reduce cholesterol. You can get good amounts of omega-3 from herring, sardines, salmon, walnuts and flaxseed.
To complete your battle with cholesterol, you need to make sure you eat plenty of fiber rich foods. Fiber is thought to work by causing the excretion of some of the bile in the intestines. The process used by the body to make up for the lose of bile effectively removes some of the cholesterol in the blood stream. Good sources of fiber include whole grains, including breads, cereals, pastas and rice, nuts and seeds, peas beans, lentils, fruits and vegetables, especially broccoli and carrots.
Now lets have a look at blood pressure.
The main dietary cause of high blood pressure is salt. Most foods contain natural levels of salt and processed foods also often contain high levels of salt. The simplest way to tackle high blood pressure is to stop adding salt when cooking or as a condiment to your meal.
Also, try to eat plenty of potassium rich foods. Potassium can help to reverse the effects of the salt you eat and has a direct effect in lowering your blood pressure. Good sources of potassium include bananas, beans, potatoes, spinach and raisins.
Finally the thorny subject of your weight.
If you are overweight, you should try to stick to a diet that helps you to lose weight. Don't aim to lose weight quickly, make it a medium term goal. This is more likely to be successful and once your target weight is reached, you will be more likely to stay there.
The main healthy eating action to help with weight loss is to cut out sugar and foods containing excessive amounts of sugar. Eating sugar quickly raises the sugar levels in your blood. To cope with this your body stores the excess energy from the sugar in your blood as fat cells. This then reduces the sudden surge in blood sugar levels back to a normal blood sugar level.
You don't have to make a sudden change to healthy eating. Take your time. Try gradually including foods that help your body reduce the risk of heart disease. Not forgetting to cut out those that are harmful to your health. By eating healthy food, you will not only be protecting your heart, you will enjoy better all round health.
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