How to Have Heart Healthy Diet

Having an unhealthy relationship with food can cause many problems. Eating healthy for the benefit of your heart has to become a lifestyle, not a short-term diet. There are certain factors you must know in order to control your diet and maintain healthy a heart.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Learn how to read food labels. Knowing how to read food labels is key to understanding calorie consumption and a way to ensure you are choosing the right foods for a healthy heart. You must know how many calories you are consuming in order to figure out how much exercise is needed to burn off the calories. A key to remember is to burn more calories than you consume.

2. Familiarize yourself with the food pyramid. The food pyramid, provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), outlines what you should eat each day. The highest emphasis is placed on the foods found in the lower portion of the pyramid. The major point of the pyramid is to gain the right amount of nutrients from each of the groups. To maintain optimal health of your heart, you need to eat from all of the groups daily. All of the food groups are all equally important.

3. Decrease your chances of chronic illnesses by eating a healthy diet daily. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity are conditions that can improve or worsen due to an unhealthy diet (Escott-Stump and Mahan, 9th edition). Try to exercise daily, but you must first check with your doctor to make sure your exercise regimen is okay. Eating foods such as fish, high-fiber containing fruits and vegetables, and less saturated fats will contribute to a healthier heart.

4. Get your cholesterol checked regularly. According to Escott-Stump and Mahan in "Krause's Food , Nutrition,& Diet Therapy", it is stated that the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), recommends all adults and children two and above to follow a guideline. "The guideline limits calories from fat to no more than 30% (10% or less from saturated fat, up to 10 % from unsatruated fat, and 10 to 15% from monosaturated fat), and no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day" (Escott-Stump and Mahan, 9th edition). Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce blood clots, and is also known to reduce inflammation. Doing all of the above, helps to maintain a consistent and healthy blood pressure which keeps the heart functioning properly.

5. Understand the definition of words on food labels. Any foods that you eat can affect the health of your heart, so choose wisely. Saturated fat (derived mostly from animal sources), unsaturated fat (derived from plant and animal sources), and monosaturated fat (found in plant oils). Monosaturated fats and unsaturated fats are better for lowering and stabilizing your cholesterol, which is imperative for good heart health. Foods containing these fats are the ones that you will want to look for. High chosterol is one of the factors that can lead to heart disease. Following all of the above factors will help to improve your heart health.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your doctor before starting any new diet plan.
• Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise plan
• Check with your doctor before using any over-the-counter drugs, if you are already taking medication
• Always advise your doctor of any changes in health

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on 3/16/2009 Thanks for the advice on how to have a heart healthy diet and lower your cholesterol. My doctor tells me I need to do this!