Heart Disease Diet

For those wishing to prevent heart disease, or maintain health after being diagnosed with heart disease, dietary changes are often a major part of treatment. A heart disease diet can help keep heart disease at bay, and can even reverse some symptoms and prevent heart disease from leading quickly to heart attack or other cardiac problems.

Basics of a Heart Disease Diet

A heart disease diet should include plenty of fiber, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, polyunsaturated fats, and much needed vitamins and minerals. It should not include saturated fat, processed foods, white sugar, or junk food. The processed foods so common in today's world are hard on the heart and detrimental to overall health, and should be avoided.

The following guidelines can help form the base of an effective heart disease diet:

*Reduce saturated fat, trans fats and cholesterol. Keep fats at a minimum, but use monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in small amounts.
*Increase fruit and vegetable intake. Fruits and vegetables provide important vitamins, minerals and fiber to keep the diet heart healthy.
*Choose low fat protein. Instead of steak or hamburgers, use skinless chicken, fish, and nuts and beans to provide necessary protein.
*Eat less salt, and reduce sodium intake overall. Packaged foods and fast foods are particularly high in sodium.
*Replace refined grains, such as white bread, with whole grains. Whole grains provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals that help regulate blood pressure.

While these might seem like simple steps, these changes in the diet can have a profound effect on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other issues related to heart disease.

Planning a Heart Disease Diet

As with any lifestyle change, planning ahead can increase the likelihood of success. Take a look at existing diet habits and see where substitutions can be easily made. Use these substitutions to gradually change over to a heart disease diet. Make meal plans and be sure there is enough of the right kind of food available in the refrigerator and cupboards to support the plan. Construct a grocery list to increase the number of heart healthy foods in easy reach.

Meal planning can also help guard against overeating and situations where it seems more convenient to eat quickly than to eat well. Overeating, even when healthy changes have been made to the diet, can cause weight gain that results in excessive strain on the system, which can then lead to high blood pressure and other issues. Resorting to high sodium, high fat fast food instead of sticking to a healthy diet plan can reverse any health improvements and put excess strain on the heart and body.

While a heart disease diet is aimed at those suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other symptoms of cardiovascular problems, this dietary approach can be used by anyone who wants to increase overall heart health, decrease cholesterol and/or blood pressure, or even to lose weight. A heart healthy diet is also a general healthy diet, so even for those without symptoms that need to be controlled, a heart disease diet can be an excellent guide for everyday eating.

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