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Visit with our Registered
Dietitian on Saturday, February 27th from 11am to 1pm
Eating for Heart Health
Would you change the way you eat if you knew the diet was
going to maintain the health of your heart? A review of scientific
literature reveals that a heart-healthy diet may indeed be a major
component of the fight against heart disease, the number one killer
in the United States. Epidemiological and experimental nutrition
research indicates that diets from the Mediterranean region are
associated with the lowest rates of chronic disease and the highest
adult life expectancy. In America, there are two landmark studies
which shaped our understanding of how to define a heart-healthy
diet: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and Optimal
Macronutrient Intake Trial to Prevent Heart Disease (OmniHeart
Trial), both funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI) of the National Institute of Health. The studies provided
strong evidence of the benefit of a diet which is low in saturated
fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and high in fruits, vegetables, fiber,
potassium, and other minerals. In addition, the OmniHeart Trial
revealed that after 6 weeks, study participants who followed the
diet plan high in plant-based protein sources, (primarily from
beans, legumes, nuts, seeds), as well as, those who ate the diet
high in healthy monounsaturated fats (from canola and olive oil),
achieved cholesterol-lowering effects similar to those of
prescription statin drugs.
How to give your diet a makeover:
● Limit sodium intake to 2,300 mg/d (1 tsp of table
salt). Read the food label to find the sodium content in the
products you buy.
● Maintain healthy weight. There is evidence that even
modest weight loss of 5 lb leads to decreased cardiovascular health
risk.
● Focus on the consumption of fruit and vegetables; aim
at 11 servings/d (2-3 servings per meal). One serving = ½ cup of
fresh or cooked fruit/vegetables, ¼ cup of dried fruit.
● Limit grains to 4-5 servings/d, and make most of your
choices whole grains. One serving = a slice of bread, 1 cup of dry
cereal, ½ cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal.
● Include 2-3 servings of low-fat dairy products. One
serving = 8 oz of milk, 1.5 oz of cheese.
● Include 2-3 servings of vegetable proteins (beans,
nuts, tofu), and 1 serving of lean animal source of proteins (lean
red meat, skinless poultry, fish). One serving =
1 oz of meat, chicken, fish, ¼ cup dry beans, ½ oz nuts.
● Focus on healthy vegetable sources of fats (olive
oil), and limit to 2 Tb/d.
● Limit sweets to a small serving 2-3 times a week or
2tsp of sugar/d.
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