Having a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, or getting diagnosed with heart disease can be overwhelming. You may suddenly have to take new medications, modify your diet, and make other changes.
If you’ve had a cardiovascular event, there’s a lot you can do so it won’t happen again. And now is the time to act to prevent it;
Food as Medicine
It may sound overwhelming, but the truth is that just making small, consistent changes to your diet can make a big and lasting impact on your heart health.
These are the five key changes you should focus on to improve your diet:
- Limiting saturated fats
- Adding more soluble fiber
- Avoiding trans fats
- Cutting back on salt
- Eating balanced meals
One of the biggest things that affects heart health and that often gets worse due to an unhealthy diet is blood cholesterol levels. When there’s too much cholesterol in your blood, it can mix with fats and other substances and stick to artery walls, which leads to dangerous plaque buildup. But your habits can help lower your cholesterol.
Limit Saturated Fats
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, is the main source of plaque buildup that can clog your arteries.
It comes from saturated fats, which are found mostly in animal products like red meat.
To lower the amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood and avoid plaque buildup, you should limit these sources of saturated fats:
- Fatty cuts of beef, pork, lamb, or veal, as well as poultry skin
- Processed meats (such as bacon, sausages, and cold cuts like ham)
- Dairy products (such as butter, sour cream, and whole milk)
- Egg yolks
- Certain oils (such as palm oil and coconut oil)
Healthy Swaps
This doesn’t mean you can never eat red meat or fat. The key is to choose the right options and eat them in moderation.
When it comes to fats, unsaturated fats are better for your health. They’re actually good for your heart when eaten in the right amounts.
If you cook with oil, choose one that stays liquid at room temperature, such as olive oil. Remember to use only what you need – not a drop more. Other healthy fats are found in nuts, avocados, and certain fish.
“Fatty fish contains omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), which are essential and have been shown to lower the chance of heart disease in the population,” says Mendoza Castro.
Good options include:
- Wild salmon
- Mackerel
- Sardines
- Cod
- Lake trout
- Canned light tuna
The FDA says most adults should eat two 4-ounce servings of omega-3-rich fish each week.
‘Clean Out’ Cholesterol With Soluble Fiber
Like fat, not all cholesterol is bad for your health. Eating “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol can help “clean out” or remove LDL cholesterol from your body. The best foods to support this process are those high in soluble fiber.
“Soluble fiber forms a thick solution in the gut that helps you feel full and slows cholesterol absorption, which boosts excretion,” says Mendoza Castro.
You can find soluble fiber in many foods already common in traditional Latino diets, such as:
- Beans, peas, and lentils
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Foods made with whole ingredients (such as certain breads, cereals, crackers, and pastas)
- Whole grains (such as oats, brown rice, popcorn, and quinoa)
“One of the most studied types is beta-glucan, which is found in oats. Studies have shown that eating about 3 grams of this kind of fiber (or one serving of oats) daily lowers LDL by 5% to 7%, and by even more when combined with the other recommendations,” says Mendoza Castro.
The FDA recommends eating about 28 grams of natural fiber per day.
How Salt Affects Your Heart
Our bodies need sodium for our organs to work properly. But too much sodium, usually from eating too much table salt, can harm your heart.
When you eat too much salt, the level of sodium in your blood rises. This pulls water into the blood vessels, which increases the amount of blood flowing through them as well as your blood pressure. That makes the heart work harder to pump blood throughout the body.
If the amount of sodium in the blood isn’t kept under control, over time, it can stretch or damage vessel walls and speed up plaque buildup, which can affect blood flow.
According to the American Heart Association, people in the U.S. generally eat about 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day. That’s 50% more than the recommended amount. A study published by the organization shows that cutting sodium to 1,500 milligrams per day could lower blood pressure by 25.6%.
Fortunately, many Latin dishes already use healthy ingredients that allow you to add flavor without relying too much on table salt. “Use traditional herbs and spices like garlic, oregano, achiote, and cilantro to cut salt,” suggests Mendoza Castro.
Credit: webmd.com
