Heart-Healthy Diet

Follow these steps to keep your heart on a healthy track.

Fill Up on Fibre

Research has revealed that if you add any one soluble fibre, nuts, soy protein or plant sterols into a low-fat diet, you can suppose to lower your LDL cholesterol by about five percent. But when you introduce all four, you can lower your LDL cholesterol by 30 percent. That requires adding things like oat bran, oatmeal, almonds, soy milk, tofu, veggie dogs or burgers, and either plant sterol-enriched margarine (not yet available in Canada) or plant sterols in supplements.

Vitamin D

One of the newest areas of research into nutrition and heart disease concerns vitamin D. A recent study found that people with low levels of vitamin D, compared to those with higher levels, were twice as possible to have a heart attack or stroke within five years. Vitamin D is found in some foods-fortified milk, oily fish, egg yolks, but that won’t give us enough to maintain good health. We rely on sunshine for vitamin D.

Dining Out Healthy

Anyone concerned about heart healthy diets should be especially careful when dining out, particularly at chain and family-style restaurants. Whether eating out or at home, just be careful of some basic elements of a heart healthy diet: fish at least twice a week; a few (or more) vegetarian meals a week; nuts (e.g. almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios), fruits and vegetables; low-fat dairy products’ lean poultry or beef; legumes (e.g. kidney beans, black beans, peas, lentils); and whole grains. Remember, lots of foods may be hearty but only some are actually good for your heart.

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