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A heart healthy diet is all about making healthy food choices.And making sure you're eating a heart healthy diet is one of the best weapons you have to fight heart disease.
Like many people I thought I ate a pretty heart healthy diet before I got heart disease. Actually, I wasn't doing too badly but I've since learned lots of ways to improve my food choices. It's not difficult... although it does mean changing your habits. But you're worth it, right? Eating out? Here are
some tips
to help you make smart heart choices! What about red wine?
Can it and should it be part of a heart healthy diet? Is
coffee
a benefit or a risk for your heart health?
Caution - Just because a label says "low fat" or "cholesterol-free" it doesn't mean a product is necessarily good for you. Many of these items are highly processed and made with trans fats and chemicals that are not healthy. Read labels carefully. Grapes anyone?
A study at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center indicates grapes may play a role in reducing cardiovascular risk. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of antioxidants that grapes contain.The study was performed in laboratory rats. The researchers noted that while the study results are extremely encouraging, more research needs to be done. The researchers studied the effect of grapes (a blend of green, red, and black grapes) mixed into the rat diet in a powdered form, as part of either a high- or low-salt diet. All the rats were from a research breed that develops high blood pressure when fed a salty diet. After 18 weeks, rats that received the grape-enriched diet powder had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than the rats that ate the same salty diet but didn't receive grapes. Rats that received blood-pressure medicine, along with a salty diet also had lower blood pressure, but their hearts were not protected from damage as they were in the grape-fed group. Says Mitchell Seymour, M.S., who led the research at Michigan State University, "These findings support our theory that something in the grapes has a direct impact on cardiovascular risk, beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that we already know can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables." Researchers think the reason for the effect against hypertension may be the flavanoids – either by direct antioxidant effects, by indirect effects on cell function, or both. Flavanoids are rich in all parts of the grape - skin, flesh, and seed, all of which were in the powder fed to the rats. Though it's true that your mom told you to eat all your fruits and vegetables, and that we are learning a lot about fruits, including grapes, we would not tell patients to throw their pills away and just eat grapes says one of the researchers. However, research on grapes and other fruits containing high levels of antioxidants continues to show promise. So does research on the impact of red wine on heart health, though that issue is also far from settled. The popular DASH diet, which is low in salt and high in fruits and vegetables, has been proven to reduce mild high blood pressure without medication. The dose of grape powder that was consumed in the study was roughly equivalent to a person eating nine human-sized servings of grapes a day. Currently, five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended as part of the DASH diet. Overall, the study shows that a grape-enriched diet can have an effect on the development of hypertension and the risk factors that go along with it in rats. Whether the effect can be replicated in humans, they say, remains to be seen. Source - ScienceDaily Portion SizeResearch has found that food portion sizes in North America have increased dramatically over the past two decades. Bigger portions mean we are consuming nearly 20% more calories per day than we did 15 years ago. No wonder obesity is becoming such a problem.How can you gauge the correct portions - at home and when you are eating out? Here's a rough guide. Pasta - 1 cup = roughly the size of a baseball. Meat, chicken, or fish - 3 ounces = roughly the size of a deck of playing cards Cheese - 1.5 ounces = roughly the size of two thumbs up! Bun = roughly the size of a hockey puck. Butter 1 teaspoon = roughly the size of the tip of your thumb. Potato 1 small = roughly the size of a computer mouse. Do you like blueberries? Did you know that blueberries are an excellent source of antioxidants in your heart healthy diet? They're also rich in fiber, iron, and Vitamin C. In particular, wild blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity per serving, compared with more than 20 other fruits. USDA researchers found that a one-cup serving of wild blueberries had more antioxidant capacity than a serving of cranberries, strawberries, plums, raspberries, or cultivated blueberries. Antioxidants have been linked with anti-aging, anti-cancer and heart-health benefits. Research at the University of Maine, concludes that a diet of wild blueberries may reduce risk from cardiovascular disease. Are you nuts about nuts? Research is showing that nuts can play a role in a heart healthy diet. Find out more.
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These handy gadgets will tell you at a glance your intake of calories, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and sugar, consumed at any time of the day, without the need for written journals or logs.
