Index
- Good food for heart health
- What is cardiovascular disease?
- Things to remember about a good diet for heart health
- The Power of Good Nutrition on Heart Health
- The right foods to protect your heart and vessels
- Lean proteins
- Sources of good fats
- Fruits and vegetables
Good food for heart health
The heart is one of the most fragile and stressed organs of the entire body. In fact, it has never ceased to function since birth. And because many vessels and arteries come into play to facilitate its work, a variety of cardiovascular disorders can occur. Some can be very serious while others can be easily treated. Fortunately, these conditions can be prevented. One way to maintain cardiovascular health is to eat well. In this article, find out the best way to eat to protect your heart and what foods to choose.
What is cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease is a term used to describe all disorders affecting the health of the heart and blood vessels. As such, the term includes various kinds of conditions such as coronary heart disease (damage to the blood vessels supplying the heart muscles) and cerebrovascular disease. Cerebrovascular diseases are all diseases of the blood vessels that supply the brain. Because of the number of components in the cardiovascular system, any one of them can be affected by disorders. As a result, cardiovascular disease can affect anyone. However, they can be prevented by a good lifestyle and diet.
Things to remember about a good diet for heart health
In order to maintain heart health, you need to eat. In fact, in addition to physical exercise, diet plays an important role in maintaining overall health. A diet adapted to protect the health of the heart and blood vessels should aim at better weight control. It should also help control and regulate blood sugar levels. Also, the diet should help to reduce pressure in the arteries and cholesterol levels.
The points to consider for eating better and preventing cardiovascular disease are as
follows:
- Favour foods rich in good fats
- Eat more fibre-rich foods
- Eat more fruit and vegetables
- Choose foods with a low glycemic index
The Power of Good Nutrition on Heart Health
By respecting the few points mentioned above, you can both preserve your cardiovascular health and do good for your whole body. A healthy diet allows you to :
- Regulating blood sugar
- To regulate the cholesterol level in the blood
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Reduce blood pressure
- Prevent cardiovascular accidents
Once your heart health is at its best, you can avoid all the complications that various cardiovascular diseases can cause. It should also be noted that a good diet should always be accompanied by regular activity.
The right foods to protect your heart and vessels
Protecting and maintaining cardiovascular health therefore requires good food hygiene. It is then necessary to take stock of the foods that are good for protecting the heart and blood vessels. This will help you improve and enrich the contents of your plate.
Lean proteins
A diet to take care of your cardiovascular health must take into account the consumption of lean protein. It is therefore important to choose the pieces of meat that you will include in your diet. The same goes for the way they are cooked.
- For poultry - preference should be given to white meat without the skin. This applies to all poultry, whether chicken, turkey or goose.
- For pork - the preferred cuts are tenderloin, middle loin, and buttock chops.
- For beef - if you plan to eat beef, it is best to choose filet mignon, striploin, or walnut round. Extra-lean ground beef is also a good choice.
Sources of good fats
Fat is very important in cardiovascular health. Indeed, they can accumulate on the walls of arteries and vessels and clog them. Good fats for cardiovascular health are found in avocado, oilseeds, olive oil and canola oil.
As for fish, don't hesitate to favour those rich in omega-3 such as trout, sardines, herring, tuna, salmon and mackerel. As for vegetable sources of Omega-3, they are :
- Walnut oil
- The nuts
- Linseed and the oil obtained from it
- Rapeseed oil
- Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and chia seeds
As far as oils are concerned, you should know that they are not used in the same way. For example, for frying, peanut oil is recommended; for baking, choose rapeseed or sunflower oil instead. Finally, be aware that olive oil has multiple functions and can be used raw or cooked.
Fruits and vegetables
Having a diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps to keep cardiovascular health intact. These foods are indeed rich in antioxidants that protect the heart and vessels. Therefore, broccoli, strawberries, kiwi, carrots and squash should be favoured.
