Simple Cardiac Diet For Better Heart Health - Heart Healthy Diet
What is the importance of the heart and of cardiac health? The heart is the organ which helps to pump blood throughout our body. The blood carries oxygen and other vital nutrients, which are important for the functioning of all the organs – brain, liver, kidneys, etc. The blood also collects the wastes and other toxic materials from all parts of the body and facilitates its disposal. The health and strength of the heart is therefore essential to enable it to perform these important functions.
Blood is transported around the body by the arteries and veins. If these become blocked, blood would not flow properly, causing mal-functioning of the organs.
In fact it could lead to complete stoppage of the flow of blood. This would cause a heart attack or a stroke, which could prove to be fatal.
The health of these arteries is also essential. Excessive fat in the diet leads to fat deposits in the arteries, causing the passage to become too narrow. The flow of blood becomes so slow, that sometimes it forms clots. These clots are dangerous as they may completely block a blood vessel leading to an important organ.
Heart health depends upon genetics and lifestyle of which exercise and diet are important.
Importance Of Diet For Better Heart Health
A proper diet is therefore very essential to ensure heart health.
Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Vegetable soups and salads are a good way to include vegetables in your diet. When you feel the urge to snack, choose a piece of fruit or sticks of broccoli, radish and carrots. A dessert of stewed fruits is also delicious but nutritious. Add chopped fruits in your yogurt.
Cut down on fats. Saturated fats are the enemies of the heart. Stay away from fried stuff, especially deep fried foods. Switch to fat free or less fats methods. Bake, roast, grill, boil, steam or poach.
Use a non-stick pan for frying and use a healthy oil like olive oil. If the food is too dry, add moisture by add a little fresh lemon juice which will also help to enhance the flavor.
Change over to low fat foods. Switch over to skimmed milk instead of whole milk. Go for low fat yogurts, cheeses and spreads.
Avoid red meat which has a higher fat content. Switch to skinless chicken. Fish is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which is good fat. Try and include fish in your diet, once or twice a week.
Include plenty of fiber in your diet. Fiber helps in reducing cholesterol.
Reduce your consumption of sugar. Cakes, cookies and candies which contain too many calories lead to obesity. This increases your chances of heart disease.