Want to help your loved ones with heart disease? - Heart-Healthy Diet

When we learn that a family member or loved one has heart disease, we feel very sad and anxious. "What can we do to take good care of them?" is the question that comes to everyone's mind. Just like medication, the food we give them has a big impact on their well-being. In fact, a nutritious meal prepared with love is the best gift you can give someone with heart disease.

Why is food and drink so important?

Simply put, a healthy diet can not only help control heart disease, but sometimes even help reverse some of the damage it causes. Think about it, most heart disease is caused by fat deposits in the arteries that carry blood to our hearts. It's like dirt building up in a water pipe. A healthy diet can slow down the rate at which these arteries narrow, and sometimes even reverse it for the better.

This mainly does a few things:

• Reduces bad cholesterol: Helps reduce the level of LDL cholesterol, which is harmful to the body.
• Controls blood pressure: High blood pressure is a big enemy of the heart. It can be controlled with good food.
• Control blood sugar levels: Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease.
• Control your body weight: Maintaining a healthy weight is a great relief for the heart.

Saying 'Let's eat this' is more important than saying 'Don't eat it'

Often, we tell someone with heart disease, "Don't eat oil," "Don't eat salt," "Don't eat sweets," etc. This can cause a lot of mental stress. They may think, "I don't have anything to eat right now."

Okay, so now let's talk about 10 tips that will help you prepare a healthy, delicious meal for someone with heart disease.

1. Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts.

Plant-based foods are a superfood that is full of fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. Include colorful vegetables and fruits in your diet. For example, when making a sambol, choose something like gotukola or mukunuwenna. Boil vegetables like beans, carrots, and pumpkin. But when making these, avoid adding a lot of oil, cheese, or thick coconut milk . Add things like bran rice, oats, peas, chickpeas, and green beans to your diet.

2. Let's learn exactly about fat (oil)?

When we say "oil", not all of them are equally bad. We need to choose good oils.

• Do not get more than 35% of your total calories from fat: Limit your daily intake of fat to no more than one-third of your total calories.
• Limit Saturated Fat: These are found mostly in animal products. For example , in butter, ghee, cheese, fatty meats (beef, pork), and whole milk .
• Avoid trans fats as much as possible: These are one of the biggest enemies of the heart. These are a type of artificially made fat. They are found in margarine, baked goods (pastries, buns), short-eats, biscuits and processed foods . Check the labels of store-bought foods to see if they contain "partially hydrogenated oils".
• Choose good oils: When using them for cooking, it is best to choose oils rich in monounsaturated fats , such as olive oil and peanut oil, or oils rich in polyunsaturated fats, such as soybean, corn, and sunflower oil.

3. How to balance protein and cholesterol

Protein is essential for the body, but we should choose low-fat types of protein.

• Skinless chicken, turkey, and fish are the best choices.
• Red meat (beef, lamb, pork) and high-fat dairy products (full-fat milk, cheese) are high in cholesterol. These can increase the level of bad cholesterol in the blood. So limit these as much as possible.
• Add more plant-based protein sources like lentils, chickpeas, and soy to your diet.

4. Be smart when choosing carbohydrates

There are two types of carbohydrates: good and bad.

• Good carbohydrates: Choose fiber-rich, complex carbohydrates like brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, cassava, and yams. These slow the release of sugar into the blood.
• Bad carbohydrates: Avoid simple carbohydrates like sugary drinks, cakes, biscuits, bread, and white rice. These raise blood sugar levels quickly.

5. Reduce salt intake

Excessive salt consumption is a major cause of high blood pressure.

• Reduce the amount of salt you add when cooking.
• Instead, use things like lime, ginger, and vinegar to add flavor.
• Spice up your food with spices (cloves, cinnamon, pepper) and natural ingredients like curry, turmeric, ginger, and garlic.
• Sauces, soup cubes, and store-bought processed foods are high in salt. Be careful with them.

6. Eat 5 or 6 small meals a day instead of 3 large meals.

Eating five to six small meals a day, rather than three large meals a day, helps maintain blood sugar and cholesterol levels at the same level. It also helps burn fat more efficiently.

7. Give plenty of water to drink

It is very important to prevent dehydration. Drinking plenty of water not only hydrates the body, but also controls unnecessary eating. Encourage people to drink about 1.5 - 2 liters of water (8-10 glasses) per day.

How to control food portions? (Portion Control)

Sometimes we eat too much without realizing it. It is also very important to control the amount of food we eat.

• Use small plates to share food and small glasses to drink water.
• Look at the "Serving Size" on the label of foods you buy from the store.
• There are simple ways to measure food portions. See the table below.

It may seem a little difficult at first to create a diet for your loved one in this way. But as you get used to it, it will become a part of your life. Remember, this is just another way you show them your love.

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