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Heart Healthy Eating Out Heart Healthy Snacks Heart Healthy Mediterranean Diet Heart Healthy Red Wine Coffee salt-sodium dash diet nuts

A heart healthy diet can be
dee-licious!

And a heart healthy diet is one of the best weapons you have to fight cardiovascular disease.

Heart Healthy Eating 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?

See our Recipe Page for a variety of Smart Heart Recipes plus we've found some great cookbooks you might like too.

Eating out? Here are some tips to help you make smart heart choices!

Check out these heart healthy snack ideas.

Learn about the Mediterranean diet and why it is good for your heart health.

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?

Our foods are full of hidden salt. Learn about the risks to your heart health and the proper level of dietary sodium (salt).

Here are some more tips to help you improve your diet.

  • Monitor your nutritional intake through the use of a nutrition calculator. 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.

  • Cut back or limit foods high in cholesterol such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, butter, and lard.

  • Choose vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products. Avoid processed foods.

  • Select 1 % fat, and low-fat dairy products.

  • Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.

  • Choose only lean meats and poultry (without skin) and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.

  • Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.

  • Make little changes that add up - for example, have your coffee with milk instead of cream or better yet, have it black.

  • Don't use butter AND mayonnaise when you make a sandwich, use just low fat mayo.

  • Substitute low sodium broth instead of cooking oil when you are sauteing meat or vegetables.

  • Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.

  • If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation.

  • Talk to a nutritionist. Get advice about your particular dietary needs from a nutritionist through your rehab program, your health care plan, or your local clinic.

    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 made with trans fats and chemicals that are not healthy. Read labels carefully.

    Portion Size

    Research 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 gage 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. 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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