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Nutrition and Your Health
Easy Steps to Heart-Healthy Eating
Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the
United States. Coronary heart disease is caused by narrowing of the arteries
that feed the heart. When arteries become narrowed or clogged by fat and
cholesterol, they cannot supply enough blood to the heart. This can result in
chest pain and, if totally blocked, a heart attack. A person with coronary heart
disease has a much higher risk of having a heart attack than someone without
heart disease.
Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting
heart disease. It is important to know what your blood cholesterol numbers are
because lowering cholesterol levels that are too high reduces the risk of
developing heart disease. You can find out your cholesterol numbers by having a
lipoprotein profile test. This blood test is done after a 9- to 12-hour fast and
will give information about your total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL
(good) cholesterol and triglycerides. Total cholesterol should be below 200 mg/dL.
HDL cholesterol protects against heart disease. HDL levels of 60 mg/dL or more
help lower your risk for heart disease. A level of less than 40 mg/dL is
considered a major risk factor for heart disease. High levels of triglycerides
in your blood can also raise heart disease risk. Triglycerides may be high if
you eat too much fat and/or sugar or drink too much alcohol. Levels that are
borderline high (150-199 mg/dL) or high (200 mg/dL or more) may need treatment.
Diet is one of the things that effects blood cholesterol. Saturated fat and
cholesterol in the food you eat can make your blood cholesterol go up. Saturated
fat has the biggest effect, but dietary cholesterol also matters. Changing the
diet is usually the first step in treating high cholesterol. Other strategies
include quitting smoking if you smoke, losing weight if you are overweight,
getting regular physical activity (30-60 minutes on most, if not all days), and
medication.
Following are some simple dietary changes you can make to follow a
heart-healthy diet.
- Choose foods low in saturated fat. Saturated fats are found mainly
in animal foods and tropical oils.
- Choose foods low in total fat. Lower-fat foods are found on the
lower levels of the Food Guide Pyramid.
- Select foods low in cholesterol. Cholesterol is found only in
animal foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy foods.
- Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are
low in fat, cholesterol-free, high in several vitamins and minerals and they
provide fiber.
- Choose lowfat (1%) or fat-free (skim) milk and yogurt and
reduced-fat cheeses. These foods provide important nutrients, including
calcium, but contain less fat and saturated fat than higher-fat dairy foods.
- Use non-stick cooking utensils and spray. Foods can be browned
just like when frying but without the fat.
- Choose lean cuts of meat such as: beef round, loin, sirloin chuck
arm; pork tenderloin, center loin, ham; lamb leg, loin, fore shanks; and veal.
- Trim fat from meat and skin from poultry before cooking (or at
least before eating). This significantly lowers the total amount of fat in the
food.
- Drain fat from ground meat. For an even greater fat reduction,
quickly rinse under hot running water.
- Chill broth and skim the layer of fat that rises to the top.
- Bake, roast, boil, broil rather than fry. These methods do not add
fat to the food.
- Choose fats and oils with high percentages of mono- and poly-
unsaturated fats such as olive, canola, safflower, soybean and sunflower. Use
margarines with liquid oil listed first in the ingredient list.
- Use fat-free or reduced-fat salad dressings and sandwich spreads.
- Use less salt and sodium. Too much sodium can effect blood
pressure in some people.
- Season foods with herbs, spices and other flavorings such as lemon
or lime juice and wine.
- Read food labels. Look for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and
sodium content. Select foods with low Daily Value (DV) percentages for these
nutrients. Look for foods with high percentages of DV for fiber.
Prepared by Rosemary Rodibaugh, PhD, RD, LD,
Extension Nutrition Specialist -
March 2003
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