Studies show that consuming certain foods regularly can help you and your family put up a powerful food fight against heart disease. You’re never too old or too young to start fighting off the nation’s number-one killer. And with February being National Heart Month, there’s no time like the present. Here’s a guide of the key components of a heart-smart diet.
Soluble Fiber:
It acts like a scouring pad for your circulatory system, clearing out harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol before it has a chance to stick to artery walls, where it forms thick, hard deposits that block blood flow. According to a study in the “Journal of the American Dietetic Association,” people who add just three grams of soluble fiber to their diets each day can lower their LDL levels by five percent in six weeks. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has found that each one percent reduction in a person’s LDL cholesterol levels can be expected to reduce heart disease risk by two percent.
Find it in: Whole grains, such as oatmeal, bran and barley, as well as fruits and vegetables, and legumes are great sources.
How much you need: Aim for 25 to 30 grams per day.
Unsaturated Fats:
Although conventional wisdom once held that the heart-healthiest diets were practically fat-free, that notion has changed in recent years. “You want a diet that’s moderate in fat,” says Alice H. Lichtenstein, chairperson of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee. The best way to achieve it: Restrict the two types of fat that don’t benefit your heart—saturated and trans-fatty acids—and substitute two “good” fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Find them in: Vegetable oil, nuts, olives, avocados and fish are all good sources of mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Just remember that any source of fat is calorie dense. That’s why substitution is crucial; you want to add healthful fats to your diet while subtracting not-so-healthful ones to keep daily calorie intake on an even keel.
How much you need: The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories should come from fat. Of that amount, no more than 10 percent should come from saturated fat.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
Omega-3s permeate the cells that line your circulatory system. They make your arteries more supple, which helps reduce blood pressure and prevent arterial inflammation. They also help regulate the electrical impulses that keep your heart beating steadily, preventing arrhythmia.
Find them in: Fatty cold-water fish such as salmon, pollock, swordfish, tuna, mackerel, and herring are the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Foods such as soybeans, walnuts, and flaxseed also contain omega-3 fatty acids; however, the type—called alpha-linoleic acid (ALA)—is not as readily available to the body as DHA or EPA. “You’re not going to get high levels of DHA and EPA by eating walnuts or flaxseed because your body can’t metabolize the plant fat as efficiently,” Engler says.
How much you need: As yet, there is no Food and Drug Administration-approved Reference Daily Intake for omega-3s. However, the FDA and the American Heart Association recommend eating fresh fish at least twice a week. A six-ounce serving of salmon, herring, or tuna provides a gram or more of omega-3s.
A Woman’s Heart
Heart disease is often mislabeled as a man’s disease. But the condition claims more women’s lives than cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and accidents combined, according to the American Heart Association. To help women learn more about heart disease the Department of Health and Human Services has created a Web site with interactive, customized tools that will help any woman avert her risk. Find it online at www.womenshealth.gov/foryourheart.
Written by Sandra Gordon, a journalist specializing in health and co-author of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, 2004. For heart-healthy recipes and cooking demonstrations, join Central Penn Parent at Keep the Beat, a full day event at Capital City Mall on Feb. 19.