Debbie Strong MBA, RD
If you were to search for heart-healthy tips, you would get more information than you bargained for. In fact, when using a common search engine, over 24 million results occur. The broad term “heart-healthy” may include factors such as total calories, dietary cholesterol, saturated and trans fat, sodium, animal protein, and physical activity.
Leading a “heart-healthy” lifestyle encompasses eating patterns, activity levels, and even stress management. From a nutrition standpoint, let’s pick out the key ingredients of “heart-healthy” eating.
- First, remember that weight gain results from excess calories regardless of what specific food or food group the calories come from.
With that said, avoid eliminating entire food groups (carbohydrates, fats, etc) as the goal is choose a balanced meal plan. An easy suggestion is to decrease current portion sizes at meal times. Often, this small change can make a huge difference in total caloric intake.
- Second, be aware of saturated and trans fat.
Read food labels and ingredients vigilantly. American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines recommend that saturated fat not exceed 7% of total daily calories while trans fat should not exceed 1% of total daily calories. This equates to approximately 15 grams of saturated fat and 2 grams of trans fat daily based on a 2000-calorie meal plan.
- Third, evaluate your sodium intake.
Many would be surprised to find that although they may have thrown away the salt shaker, daily sodium intake surpasses the 2400 milligram goal established by the AHA. Check food labels especially on processed foods, soups, frozen entrees, and canned goods. Also, many restaurants offer nutritional content of foods on company websites. As a rule of thumb, limit those foods with greater than 200 milligrams of sodium per serving.
These tips offered above are a great start on your road to becoming “heart-healthy”.