Diet & lifestyle can play a huge role taking care of your heart.
Here are 5 simple dietary tips to promote a healthy heart:
1. Eat the right type of fat:
✔️Include unsaturated fats from plant based sources like avocados, nuts & seeds or olive oil.
✔️Eat more fish ! Omega 3 fats are widely known to improve blood lipid profiles & reduce inflammation. Oily fish like salmon, sardines & trout are great sources of omega 3 fats. ✔️Choose lean meats & poultry (with no skin) where possible.
✔️ Include eggs.
✖️Limit processed meats, pastries, pies, snacks or fried foods (most are made with cheap sources of fat)
2. Eat a variety of vegetables & fruits: ✔️Fruits & vegetables have important antioxidants and phytochemicals which help to protect your heart, as well as soluble fibre (known to improve blood cholesterol levels).
✔️The more colours and variety (with skins on) the better! ✔️Aim to fill half your plate with vegetables or include extras as snacks
3. Choose wholegrains:
✔️Fibre rich and nutrient packed, the benefit of including wholegrains for overall heart health is strong.
✔️Aim for variety. Eg. wholegrain cereals, breads, oats, barley, rice, pasta, quinoa.
4. Reduce salt intake: We all know salt affects our blood pressure! ✔️Aim to prepare more foods from home, most of the salt in our diets comes from processed foods.
✔️Use no added salt products where possible.
✔️Check the label. Salt comes in many forms in the ingredients list. Aim for sodium of less than 400mg per 100g on the label.
▪️It can take up to 3 weeks for your taste buds to adjust to a reduced salt intake, so be patient with any changes.
5. Include nuts & seeds:
✔️Nuts & seeds are a valuable source of healthy fats, fibre and heart protecting antioxidants.
✔️ A handful of unsalted nuts per day has been shown to reduce heart disease risk by as much as 25% 🙌
Of course being active will also improve your heart health
As always, balance, variety and moderation are important when it comes to diet ❤️