Info about Diets
Stay Healthy With a Heart Disease Diet
If you believe you are at risk for coronary problems, it’s never too soon to begin a heart disease diet. Eating right and exercising as a regular part of your lifestyle may add several years to your life if you have heart problems.
Heart disease, sometimes also referred to as coronary artery disease, affects the arteries, which carry blood to your heart. Sometimes a substance called plaque can develop and slow down the flow of blood, or block it all together. Foods you eat can quicken the build up of plaque, but if you concentrate on a heart disease diet, you can often reduce this risk.
When plaque builds up on the walls of your arteries, it essentially restricts the flow of blood, which increases your blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the signs of heart disease, as is a high bad cholesterol count. It’s important to know the difference between good and bad cholesterol to better understand which type needs to be reduced with a heart disease diet.
High-density lipoprotein is the good stuff. Your body makes HDL, which helps carry cholesterol away from your arteries. Low-density lipoprotein is the bad cholesterol and is what can block arteries and lead to a heart attack. A heart disease diet can lower your LDL and reduce that risk.
• Less Saturated Fat Supplies Less Cholesterol
Animal products such as meat and poultry, as well as cheeses and whole milk will all help raise your LDL cholesterol. The intake of these products should be reduced, or sometimes eliminated altogether, with a heart disease diet, if you are to reduce your cholesterol level. Foods from plants, such as cereal, fruits and vegetables do not contain any cholesterol.
Some foods without animal fats do contain what is known as trans fats that can spark the body to create more of its own cholesterol. In a heart disease diet these should also be reduced or eliminated. Most heart disease diets call for less fried food due to the levels of trans-fatty acids they contain. If you use cooking oils it’s recommended you use unhydrogenated oils such as canola or olive oil.
French fries and doughnuts are examples of foods high trans-fatty acids and with a heart disease diet should be eaten sparingly. There is still a lot of debate between butter and margarines, as some margarines have a higher level of trans-fatty acids than butter, however butter still causes cholesterol in the blood.