Heart healthy diet is an unofficial definition for a heart healthy diet. It is basically a vegetarian or vegan diet, where you consume an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. And it means foregoing all saturated fats, trans fats and excessive salt and sugar. Sounds like a mouthwatering recipe for the perfect heart healthy diet! If that’s what you’re looking for, this article can help.
There is some confusion about what “fruits” and “vegetables” are in reference to the heart healthy diet since fruits are technically vegetables while vegetables are technically fruits. However, most fruits are more “appetizing” than vegetables and they have a tendency to be more colorful. Additionally, there are some “white” fruits and some brown fruits that are more fiber dense than other fruits and vegetables.
Fruits – Bananas, apples, grapes, pears, bananas, grapes, melons, mangoes, kiwi, bananas, melon, mango, papaya, passion fruit, guava, melon, watermelon – all fruits. Nuts are an important component in your cardiac diet. So are almonds, sesame seeds, almond butter, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chestnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and so on. Nuts provide texture, antioxidant, and many other health benefits.
Vegetables – baked, steamed, broiled, raw, steamed, grilled, as long as it is not over cooked or salted (salted) meat – all vegetables. Avoid adding sugar to your vegetable garden in any form, whether it is a salad, vegetable salad, cooked or raw vegetable juice, or even cooked meat. Always use light spices in your cooking and avoid high-fat milk products and dairy products. Also avoid added sugar and processed meat.
Back to heart healthy diet – don’t smoke, be careful of your alcohol intake, have regular physical activity, avoid stress, eat at least five portions a day which are rich in fiber, eat smaller portions more often, get regular medical checkups, and get blood pressure checked regularly. All these steps will help keep you at lower risk factors of heart disease. If you are still at risk, take the necessary steps. The earlier you start, the better.
In conclusion, eat a varied, but nutritious, heart-healthy diet, low in saturated fat, salt, sugar, and processed food choices. Make sure you take regular exercise. These are the first two steps.
To make your food choices easier, you may wish to use avocados instead of refined, prepackaged sugars. Avocados contain good amounts of potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber, vitamins A, C and E, potassium, and niacin. Niacin is a B-vitamin that’s important for heart health, hypertension, weight loss, and some other conditions as well. So substitute your potato chips with your avocados instead, and your soda pop with your figs. Use whole-wheat bread instead of your white bread, and your cookies and cakes with healthy ingredients.
Next on the diet list: Get rid of all salt in your kitchen and replace it with fresh herbs, preferably thyme, basil, oregano, Rosemary, or dill. Add olive oil to your favorite salad. Eat raw fruits or vegetables, preferably applesauce instead of processed applesauce, and add nuts, seeds, nuts, whole-grain pasta, and grain bread to your diet. If you find that you still get tired after a few days, you can add lean meats, fish, or chicken into your diet as well. Keeping your blood pressure and heart healthy should be an easy task.