High Cholesterol: Heart-Healthy Diet

by Margrett Dawson Wallace
(Pelham, Georgia USA)


High Cholesterol: Heart-Healthy Diet

Just Sharing:

Learn how to eat a heart-healthy diet to help reduce your risk of heart disease, if you have high cholesterol.

By paying close attention to what you eat you can reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke. Although this is very important for everyone at risk for heart disease, it is even more important if you have had a heart attack and/or history of atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque in the arteries).

Feed Your Heart Well:

Feeding your heart well is a powerful way to reduce or even eliminate some risk factors. Adopting a heart-healthy diet can help reduce LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol), lower blood pressure, lower blood sugars, and reduce body weight. Although many dietary plans just tell you what you CAN'T eat (usually your favorite foods!), the most powerful nutrition strategy helps you focus on what you CAN eat. In fact, heart disease research has shown that adding heart-healthy foods is just as important as cutting back on others.
Here are 5 nutrition strategies to lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease:

1. Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. These wonders of nature may be one of the most powerful strategies in fighting heart disease. The increase in dietary fiber as part of a healthy diet helps lower bad LDL cholesterol. Aim for at least 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day, three 1-ounce servings of whole grains a week, and four servings a week of nuts, legumes, and seeds.

2. Choose fat calories wisely. Keep these goals in mind: Limit total fat grams; eat a bare minimum of saturated fats (less than 7% of total calories each day) and avoid trans fats (for example, fats found in some packaged baked goods, solid fats); when you use added fat, use unsaturated fats (for example, fats found in vegetable oils such as canola, olive, and peanut oils). Another strategy is to use plant stanols or sterols (definition of sterols: any of various solid alcohols as cholesterol widely distributed in animals and plant lipids/cholesterol) as a dietary option to help lower bad LDL cholesterol.

3. Eat a variety of lean protein foods. Chicken, but not the whole fried chicken), fish, and vegetable proteins are better than red meats (beef, pork, and lamb), which contain more saturated fat and cholesterol. Fish and some vegetable sources contain omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to help reduce the risk of abnormal heart rhythms that can lead to sudden cardiac death. They also help lower levels of blood fats (triglycerides), fight atherosclerosis, and decrease blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends that at least two 3.5-ounce servings a week of fish be included as part of a heart-healthy diet. Limit processed meats fried salmon patties...mmmmm, but noooooo to no more than 2 servings a week.

4. Limit cholesterol and fat consumption. The American Heart Association recommends less than 300 milligrams a day of dietary cholesterol for healthy people and less than 200 mg if you have heart disease. Limiting dietary cholesterol has an added bonus: You'll also cut out saturated fat, as cholesterol and saturated fat are usually found in the same foods (mainly meat proteins). Get energy by eating complex carbohydrates (whole wheat pasta, brown or wild rice, whole-grain breads) and limit simple carbohydrates (regular soft drinks, sugar, sweets, smoothies). Limit sugar-sweetened drinks to less than 450 calories a week.

5. Feed your body regularly. Remember I shared with you…that you must continue to eat because skipping meals often leads to overeating, you must keep balance. For some, eating five to six mini-meals may help keep cravings in check, help control blood sugars and regulate metabolism. This approach may not be as effective for those who are tempted to overeat every time they are exposed to food. For these individuals, three balanced meals a day may be a better approach.

Other Heart-Healthy Strategies:

1. Reduce salt intake. The American Heart Association recommends less than 1500 mg of sodium a day. Try using dried herbs, vinegars, and citrus to add flavor to dishes.

2. Exercise. The human body was meant to be active. Exercise strengthens the heart muscle, improves blood flow, helps raise "good" HDL cholesterol), and helps control blood sugars and body weight.

3. Don't smoke...oops!!!

4. Keep a healthy weight.

Good luck and I will continue to share…Never to live this life again…

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to (((YIV))) Real Discussion Real People.

YOUR inner voice

Right here, Right now.

BLOGGING for A Better WORLD!

What do like minded-people have in common?

More Articles...

bullies deal with them 
Hey was a middle schooler and i get called a white bitch so so if anyone is like me tell someone thats something i never did.!

Being a Prince 
Not sure how your response relates to "why do you continue engaging, knowing all the long term pain and suffering this is causing"? Seems to me, this …

how I got my husband back 
I want to testify of the good work of prophet Bond, who helped me in bringing back my ex,  i never thought i was going to have him again. My name is …

Justified because DOMINATION 
It took an incident like this to push to the forefront the inhumane treatment of black America...demand attention, stop the killing, stop the racism, stop …

Losing a best friend 
Wow! First of all my condolences for your lost! Death is uncontrollable. Some are chosen first and some are chosen at a later or different time! We all …

my testimony on how i got my husband back and kids  
Hello everyone i want to share a live testimony on how Dr Osimen was able to bring my husband back to me, myself and my husband were on a serious breakup, …

White girls ignoring white guys and throwing themselves at Mexican American guys 
I'm a white guy in fresno can and all I see is white girls running to Mexican American guys. They refuse to even consider a date with me a good looking …

White women are destroying white men Not rated yet
Women can make or break a man, for behind every successful man is a strong woman. White women today are weak and out to break the white man in the name …

I am a Channel Not rated yet
Hi, I am a chenneller. I became aware of it in 2011 after a huge loss. I am mixed but spirit sent me a black channel to teach me what I am. She is …

Life Not rated yet
Wat is life if all we do is make money for pointless gain look at us were losing everything but we don't care along as we have more than the person next …

Women's Corner Not rated yet
As we prepare for the Christmas (Holiday) Season.. We are out shopping for gifts and preparing special dinner, cooking those delicious cakes. Let us …

looking for whitewemen that hate whitemen Not rated yet
I love whitewemen that hate their own race I'm a blackman.

A MELANIN FREQUENCY-THE MYSTIC CHANNELER SEKHMET Not rated yet
Greetings and Welcome to my page. "A MELANIN FREQUENCY-THE MYSTIC CHANNELER SEKHMET" I am blessed with the gift of Clairaudient and Clairvoyance. …

"PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE" By A.A. AMEN-RA Not rated yet
Sometime late last year in 2015, a subject was brought to the attention of the American public, that it had been decided that they were going to try to …

Beautiful tribute  Not rated yet
Dee, you said it so poignantly with such deep feeling. I hope that when my time comes, someone will be so caring of me. May she rest in peace and may …

How prepared are you?re you prepared Not rated yet
The people that are involved in a relationship will some day plan and prepare for their special day with much time,effort, decision making and a whole …

who is making the white women for u Not rated yet
haters here. clearly.

is that a knock-out? Not rated yet
I thought that rose would be dead by now, great job

Thank you for sharing Not rated yet
Our history is so violent and distorted and all we want to know is both sides of the story. Recognize, confess, know...thanks for sharing

you go girl... Not rated yet
beautiful, somebody is expecting a bountiful harvest, like that huge lobster! Enjoy

Love Leggings Not rated yet
People talk about the shit you do ruining their kids, but you never hear about the things they do ruining yours. Who's ruining who? A heart for leggings, …

When you think you escaped Not rated yet
Can't sleep, stress, can't be satisfied and more stress. A chain, lock, wrench, telephone how can they help you? One day you come to realize for …

Cosby's infidelity Not rated yet
Cosby has long been dogged by accusations of infidelity. As Cosby joined the ranks of other famous infidels like Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Willie …

Cosby's response Not rated yet
Bill Cosby will not dignify "decade-old, discredited" claims of sexual abuse with a response, his attorney said Sunday, the first comment from the famed …

Click here to write your own.

Something Better for Something Worse Not rated yet
Is Mr. Cosby a good example of this?

NOTHING like TRN was announced - PURE LIE Not rated yet
It is very strange people spreading BS instead of facts. They were screaming all over the internet that March 17 will be announcement of TRN and prices …

Click here to write your own.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.