How Proper Diet and Nutrition Can Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

When you decide to start a diet you need to be sure you are getting the proper nutrition. Don't fall for those fad diets that promise tons of weight loss in a short amount of time. Those diets are not good for you or your overall health.

Following a good diet plan that includes nutritious foods can even benefit your heart and help prevent heart disease. Making sure you get the recommended portions of food each day is the start to keeping a healthy heart and body.

Healthy diet and nutrition guidelines are as follows:

4.5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day
Two 3.5 ounce servings of fish each week
3 1 ounce servings a fiber rich whole grain
Less than 1500 milligram of sodium a day
Limit yourself to 36 ounces or less of sugar-based beverages
4 servings per week of seeds, nuts and legumes
2 servings or less of processed meat per week

Following these guidelines and a doctor recommended exercise program will get you on the right path to a healthy lifestyle. Your fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins and fiber but low in calories. This will help lower your weight and improve your blood pressure. Whole grain fiber products will help to lower your blood cholesterol. Fish contains omega 3 fatty acids which can help lower your risk of coronary artery disease.

The most important thing to know are your cholesterol levels. Go to a local health fair or to your doctor's office once a year and have them checked. If your levels are over 200mg / DL, that puts you in a high-risk category. You will need to sit down and discuss ways to lower your cholesterol. Make diet and nutrition modifications to get you back to a healthy level.

A diet with nutritious foods and exercise is a lot healthier for you and your body than processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle. Fad diets or "miracle diets" can cause a lot of harm and health issues, so talk to a healthcare professional to point you in the right direction.

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