Heart Health and Diet

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. One in three adults has some form of heart/cardiovascular disease. Many of these deaths and risk factors are preventable, and food choices have a big impact on your heart's health, even if you have other risk factors.

Only a few risk factors, such as age, gender and family history, cannot be controlled. You can prevent and control many risk factors of heart disease, such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, excess weight and obesity, with lifestyle changes and medications.

Lifestyle Changes
A healthy lifestyle - following a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, regular physical activity, quitting smoking and managing stress - can lower your risk for heart disease and may prevent current heart disease from worsening.

A Heart-Healthy Diet
To lower your risk of heart disease, your diet should be:

• *High in omega-3 fatty acids. Foods high in omega-3s include fish and olive oil.
• High in fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. A diet rich in these elements helps lower LDL cholesterol as well as provides nutrients that may help protect against heart disease.
• Low in salt and sugar. A low-salt diet can help manage blood pressure, while a low-sugar diet can help prevent weight gain and control diabetes and pre-diabetes.

• Select lean cuts of beef and pork, especially cuts with "loin" or "round" in their name.
• Cut back on processed meats high in saturated fat, such as hot dogs, salami and bacon.
• Bake, broil, roast, stew or stir-fry lean meats, fish or poultry.
• Drain the fat off of cooked, ground meat.
• Replace higher-fat cheeses with lower-fat options like reduced-fat feta and part-skim mozzarella.
• Thicken sauces with evaporated non-fat milk instead of whole milk.
• Move toward using lower-fat milk and yogurt. Start with 2 percent products, then move to 1 percent and finally to fat-free to adjust to the new taste.
• Use liquid vegetables oils and soft margarine instead of stick margarine or shortening.
• Limit consumption of cakes, cookies, crackers, pastries, pies, muffins, doughnuts and french fries. These foods tend to be the biggest sources of trans fats.
• Use non-stick spray or a nonstick pan for cooking. Try broth as a substitute for oil when sauteing foods.
• Use oils such as canola, olive and soybean in recipes and for sauteing.
• Make salad dressings with olive, walnut or pecan oil.

• Select oils that provide omega-3 fat, such as canola or soybean oil.
• Add flaxseed oil, which is very high in omega-3 fat, to foods like salad dressings If you use flaxseed, be sure it is ground up. Your body cannot digest the beneficial fat if the seeds are left whole.
• The walnut is the only common nut with omega-3 fat. Try walnut oil in salad dressings, too.
• Eat two 4-ounce portions of fatty fish each week, like salmon, albacore tuna (in water, if canned), mackerel and sardines.
• Some chickens are given feed that is high in omega-3s so their eggs will contain more as well. When buying eggs, check the package label. Remember all egg yolks contain cholesterol.
• Fish oil supplements are acceptable for those with heart disease. The recommended dose is 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids from a combination of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per day.

• Prepare foods at home so you can control the amount of salt in your meals.
• Use as little salt in cooking as possible. You can cut at least half the salt from most recipes.
• Do not salt food at the table.
• Do not use mixes or "instant" products that already contain salt or additives with sodium.
• Select no-sodium or low-sodium canned foods, such as vegetables or tuna.
• Add herbs in place of salt when cooking.
• Season foods with herbs, spices, garlic, onions, peppers and lemon or lime juice to add flavor.