Let's face it there is no shortage or food manufacturers and authors climbing aboard the heart disease diet bandwagon. If you were to visit your local supermarket, on a secret mission to examine food labels, what you would likely find is that one ingredient that belongs in your heart healthy diet has been added to a number of ingredients that shouldn't even be on the same planet. Examples of this would be high saturated fat or high sugar products containing omega 3 fatty acids.
Another example of things to look out for would be slightly misleading labeling. I recently found on a grocery store heart disease diet fact finding mission that one popular brand of ground turkey proudly proclaimed that it had 43% less fat than beef. That cow they were comparing too must have won the obesity blue ribbon at last year's livestock show because these supposedly heart disease diet food contained 27 percent saturated fat.
So our first rule of thumb for putting together a heart disease diet is to read the part of the label written in small print rather than the one that is shouting buy me! According to the American Heart Association a heart healthy diet should consist of no more than 10 percent of your calories coming from saturated fat with less than 25 percent of calories coming from fat overall. In order to accomplish these goals meat consuming will need to be held to about 4 ounces per meal, leaning towards skinless turkey and chicken with cold water fatty fish such as salmon and albacore tuna being consumed twice a week.
Why cold water fatty fish?
Heart disease is caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries caused by cholesterol laden plaque deposits. In order for plaque to form the lining of the artery must be damaged. One of the substances in nature that inhibits the ability of plaque deposits to form, and also is thought to repair the damaged arterial lining necessary for the plaque building process to occur are omega 3 fatty acids; specifically DHA and EPA. Salmon and albacore tuna along with sardines, anchovies, and mackerel are all very high in this substance and should be included in any heart disease diet plan.
Soluble fiber to the rescue
As we already mentioned cholesterol is the building block for obstructions called plaque which reduce arterial blood flow, and lead to heart disease. So let's say you fall off the happinesslifetime.com low cholesterol diet wagon and have a few chili cheese dogs and a big bowl of creamy ice cream for dessert. What might help us keep this cholesterol from ending up in our arteries and over time lead to a heart attack or stroke? The answer is soluble fiber! Soluble fiber foods such as apples, orange pulp, oat bran, beans, and whole grains bind with cholesterol in our intestines and send it out of the body in the form of solid waste long before it has a chance to find its way into our arteries.
Pass the garlic power please
Garlic has long been used to support numerous aspects of human health. Most popularly, garlic is used for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, and atherosclerosis.
In the case of age-related vascular changes, garlic is thought to protect vascular endothelial cells by reducing oxidative stress. The bottom line is that adding a little garlic to your food is generally a good idea, but maybe not on date night.
What about adding a lowered-cholesterol.com natural cholesterol reduction supplement as part of my heart disease diet?
These products are not for everyone, but if you feel you need that little extra boost when your willpower fails you, and aren't wanting to wade into a lifelong regime consisting of prescription medications for reducing cholesterol, these types of products just might be worth giving a try.
Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality alternative health products and natural living, with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at purchaseremedies.com Purchase Remedies.com
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