Dr. Hande

Heart disease accounts for about one third of all adult deaths, but dietary changes would help prevent it.

• Eat more fiber

It can be found in whole grain cereals and breads, fresh fruit and vegetables, dried beans, peas, and lentils. Fiber reduces the amount of fat and cholesterol you absorb while digesting fatty foods.

• Eat less saturated fats.

Cut down on fatty foods, choosing lean meats and polyunsaturated vegetable oil such as olive oil. Eat more fish and poultry, and switch to skimmed milk and low-fat dairy products.

• Cut down on fats and sugar.

     Avoid fats and highly refined sugary foods, such as ice cream, cookies, cakes, and many processed products.

• Keep your weight down.

Obesity is known to increase your risk of coronary heart disease.

• Eat only four eggs a week.

They are high in cholesterol.

• Reduce your salt intake.

It may raise your blood pressure, which in turn increases your risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Having a heart of gold is a metaphor but at the same time is something which is quite achievable, as long as a person looks out for oneself and makes an effort to eat the right foods!
If a person who wishes to maintain good heart health is willing to search out the right foods to eat, there is a surfeit of benefits. Just some of these benefits are a lower level of the bad sort of cholesterol, as well as a slower rate of plaque growth.

Foods for a Healthy Heart

1. Fish is something which is known to have great benefits for the mind and now, the heart, too. This is especially true, if the fish which is being eaten happens to be salmon. Fish in general, and Salmon in particular, has Omega-3 fatty acids, which are the best sort which can be consumed bar none. As a matter of fact, the medical evidence of this is so much that the American Health Association has made it a point to recommend that each person eats fish at least twice a week.
2. If eating fish and preparing it seems to be too much of a hassle, what can be done is to make sure that supplements which have these properties are consumed on a regular basis. Talking about Omega-3 fatty acids, adding a small amount of chia seeds to whatever a person is having has a lot of health benefits. However, as should normally be the case, the person has to make sure that his or her hydration is more or less adequate as the side effect of this not being the case can have a greater impact than the benefits as it can result in constipation!
3. Oatmeal is something which somehow finds its way to the breakfast table of a lot of health conscious families and it can be said that this is with good reason. This is because oatmeal has the great property of imbibing the cholesterol which is present in a person’s digestive tract and to a great extent, making sure that this cholesterol does not find its way to the bloodstream where it can cause significant damage to the heart and body in general.

However, instead of eating the instant oatmeal variety, having the comprehensive sort is good as it is likely to be sans sugar, which is something which may not be the case with instant oatmeal. All these health benefits add up and can be mulled over a glass of green tea, which is also amazing for the heart!