9 Easy Dietary Tips to Follow a Heart Healthy Diet Plan:
Following the right, healthy dietary tips are keys to keeping up with a diet for a healthy heart and enjoying good heart health. Here’s a quick rundown of easy yet effective diet tips to keep your heart in good health effortlessly.
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Focus on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables:
Fresh fruits are low in sodium and calories and rich in fibre, minerals, antioxidants, and other crucial nutrients. So, they help lower cholesterol effectively and keep your cardiovascular system and heart healthy. So, you may include blueberries, citrus fruits, apples, and other fruits in your heart-healthy diet plan. Also, leafy greens, carrots, cabbage, and beetroot are some of the many vegetables that top the list of foods good for the heart. Eating these fruits and vegetables regularly minimizes the risk of heart health issues and keeps your heart in good health. So, enrich your diet for a healthy heart with these nutritious foods.
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Reduce the Intake of Added Sugar:
We unknowingly end up eating plenty of sugar daily through various processed foods and beverages. Consuming sugar-laden foods and drinks can cause hypertension, increase triglycerides, and lower HDL (good) cholesterol. Also, a high intake of sugar leads to unhealthy weight gain. All these changes are harmful to our heart health. This is why it is crucial to minimize the intake of added sugar. Sugary beverages and processed foods are the biggest culprits of added sugar. So, replace sugary beverages with plain water in your heart-healthy diet plan. And, substitute processed foods with fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods as they supply you with appropriate quantities of natural sugar, which is not harmful, and a healthy dose of nutrients.
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Fill Up on Fibre:
A diet which is abundant in fibre brims with health benefits. Fibre keeps your cholesterol and blood sugar in check, helps you stay full for longer and aids in weight management. Oats, whole grains foods, beans, fruits, and lentils are some heart-healthy foods rich in fibre that you can include in your diet.
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Choose Whole Grains Options:
Besides being an excellent source of fibre, whole grains supply you with a healthy dose of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Refined foods fail to offer you these nutrients. So, be sure that your diet for a healthy heart includes plenty of whole-grain options. Refrain from eating processed or refined food options. It helps lower the risk of heart diseases and you enjoy good heart health effortlessly.
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Opt for Healthy Fat Sources:
Fried foods, high-fat dairy products, and red meat are high in saturated fats, cholesterol, and trans fats. Eating them makes you gain excess weight and increases your risk of developing heart diseases. Choose to eat foods rich in healthy fats such as:
- Oils: Canola and olive oils that have unsaturated fats
- Proteins: Flaxseeds, nuts, salmon, and legumes
- Dairy: Skimmed milk, cottage cheese, and yoghurt which are healthy for the heart, bones, and blood pressure.
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Have Small Meals Frequently:
Instead of eating heavy meals twice or thrice a day, prefer to have smaller meals four to six times a day. This helps improve your metabolism and keeps your blood sugar in check. Also, having more meals enables you to have a variety of nutrients from different kinds of foods throughout the day. All these are beneficial for good heart health.
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Don’t Skip Your Meals:
Although skipping meals seems to be an easy option to get in shape, it’s not healthy. Skipping your meals reduces your metabolism and burns less energy. You may feel fatigued and sluggish. As you skip your meals, you end up overeating during the next meal. So, you happen to gain excess weight, which is not healthy for your heart and overall health. So, have your meals on time and avoid skipping them.
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Limit Your Intake of Salt:
Although salt is necessary for iodine intake, excess salt can be harmful to your health. Salt contains sodium which increases the blood pressure that puts you at risk of heart disease and stroke. So, limit your intake of salt. Consulting a certified nutritionist can help have adequate salt intake in your diet for a healthy heart and prevent its excessive consumption. Avoid eating processed foods, canned soups, and frozen meals as they contain plenty of sodium.
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Avoid Heavy Drinking:
High alcohol consumption puts you at a high risk of developing hypertension, obesity, liver disease, and other serious health issues. Heavy drinking also causes a spike in LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides that increase your risk of suffering from stroke or heart attack. So, it is wise to avoid alcohol consumption. If you can’t put a stop to the intake of alcohol, moderation is the key.
So, let’s gear up this World Heart Day to improve our heart health and prevent the risk of CVDs and other heart problems by going for a customised heart-healthy diet plan. Consulting certified nutritionists and dieticians at Health Total can help you receive a personalized diet comprising all heart-healthy foods and devoid of foods harmful to your heart and foods that cause heartburn. (Title: Food that causes heartburn) This helps you keep your beating heart in the best health. Also, Health Total specializes in offering your integrated treatment comprising diet, Ayurveda, and homeopathy that helps you enjoy good heart health naturally. Such an integrated treatment is not just beneficial for your heart health but also effective in boosting your immunity, managing your weight, and improving your overall health. So, be quick, get in touch with us at Health Total, and embrace a healthy heart with our customised diet for a healthy heart.
