Dante Carrillo
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Australia, with 10% of all deaths in 2021 resulting from coronary heart disease and 25% resulting from cardiovascular disease. While there is not one single cause, an unhealthy diet can be a contributing factor. Making healthy lifestyle choices and managing health conditions are important steps towards preventing heart disease. This includes eating a healthy diet, being physically active, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight.
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What You'll Learn
Reduce salt and sugar intake
Reducing salt and sugar intake is a crucial step in preventing heart disease and promoting overall cardiovascular health. Here are some detailed tips to help you achieve this:
Reduce Salt Intake:
Salt, or sodium, is an essential mineral for the body to function normally. However, excessive sodium intake can lead to increased blood pressure, a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. To maintain a healthy balance, aim to consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, which equates to about one teaspoon of table salt.
One effective way to cut down on salt is to follow a dietary plan like the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. The DASH plan emphasizes limiting high-sodium foods and choosing fresh, whole foods over processed options. Opt for fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, fish, lean meats, and poultry. Even small reductions in salt intake, such as 1 gram per day, can significantly lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and improve your heart health.
When cooking, enhance the flavor of your meals with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, or salt-free seasoning blends instead of salt. You can also opt for salt substitutes, which have been shown to lower sodium intake and improve heart health. Additionally, prepare more meals at home, where you have control over the amount of salt added, and choose low-salt or no-salt versions of your favorite snacks.
Reduce Sugar Intake:
Limiting sugar in your diet is essential for preventing and controlling diabetes, a condition that significantly increases the risk of heart disease. While sugar itself may not directly cause heart disease, excessive sugar intake can lead to weight gain, which puts extra stress on the heart and blood vessels.
To reduce sugar intake, cut back on sugary drinks, including sugar-sweetened beverages, and opt for water or unsweetened tea instead. Additionally, when eating fruits, choose whole fruits over fruit juices, as the fiber in whole fruits can help slow down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream.
Making these dietary changes can be challenging, but they are crucial steps in preventing heart disease and improving your overall health. Remember to seek professional advice from your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian, who can provide personalized guidance and help you develop a sustainable plan to reduce salt and sugar intake.
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Avoid saturated and trans fats
To prevent heart disease, it is important to limit your consumption of saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature and are derived from animal-based foods such as beef, pork, poultry, full-fat dairy products, eggs, and tropical oils like coconut and palm. These fats can cause an increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in your blood, which in turn raises your risk of heart disease and stroke.
The American Heart Association recommends that less than 6% of your total calorie intake should come from saturated fats. To achieve this, you can make some simple substitutions. For example, instead of frying, bake, broil, or grill your meats. Choose lean meats and poultry without the skin, and prepare them without adding saturated or trans fats. Use low-fat substitutions like fat-free or reduced-fat milk, nonfat plain yogurt, and low-fat cheeses. When cooking, opt for healthier oils like canola, soybean, olive, safflower, or sunflower oil, instead of tropical oils.
It is also important to be mindful of hidden sources of saturated and trans fats in processed foods. Many snacks, even those labelled "reduced fat", may be made with oils containing trans fats. One clue that a food contains trans fat is the phrase "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredient list. Doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies, and cakes are examples of foods that may contain trans fats. Therefore, it is important to read nutrition labels and limit the frequency with which you consume these foods.
By reducing your intake of saturated and trans fats, you can effectively lower your risk of heart disease and improve your overall health. Remember to consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need guidance or have questions about your specific needs.
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Eat more fruits and vegetables
Eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way to improve your heart health. Firstly, fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C and beta-carotene, which is a form of vitamin A. These vitamins act as antioxidants, slowing down or preventing atherosclerosis by reducing the buildup of plaque in your arteries. This buildup is often caused by cholesterol and other substances, so eating more fruits and vegetables can help to prevent this.
Secondly, fruits and vegetables are typically low in calories, fat, and sodium. This is beneficial because eating foods high in saturated and trans fats can contribute to heart disease, so opting for fruits and vegetables can be a healthier choice. Additionally, limiting sodium in your diet can help lower blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease.
Filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables at each meal is a simple way to ensure you're consuming enough. This can include fresh, frozen, or canned produce, as they all have similar nutritional value. When buying canned fruit, opt for those packed in water without added sugar or syrup. If using canned vegetables, choose no-added-salt options or rinse them under water to remove excess salt.
Finally, it's important to note that a heart-healthy diet is just one aspect of preventing heart disease. Maintaining a healthy weight, managing health conditions like diabetes, and not smoking are also crucial factors in reducing your risk of heart disease.
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Consume unsaturated fats
Consuming unsaturated fats is an important part of preventing heart disease through diet. Unsaturated fats can help improve cholesterol levels by decreasing bad LDL cholesterol and increasing good HDL cholesterol. Lower LDL cholesterol levels are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
Unsaturated fats include omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, found in foods such as nuts, seeds, avocados, and olives. Omega-3 fats, in particular, can help lower heart rate and improve heart rhythm, as well as decrease the risk of blood clotting, lower triglycerides, reduce blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, and delay the build-up of plaque in your arteries.
Nuts that contain polyunsaturated fats include pine nuts, walnuts, and Brazil nuts. The Heart Foundation recommends consuming 2 to 3 grams of plant sterols per day from plant sterol-enriched foods to lower LDL cholesterol. Plant sterols are naturally found in small amounts in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and cereals.
When preparing meals, it is recommended to use liquid vegetable oils such as canola, soybean, olive, sunflower, peanut, and soybean oil instead of tropical oils, which contain saturated fats.
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Exercise regularly
Exercise is a major step towards good heart health and can be a powerful tool in preventing heart disease. Being physically active strengthens the heart muscle, helps to keep weight under control, and can ward off artery damage caused by high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend combining aerobic exercise with resistance training to produce the greatest benefit for preventing and managing heart disease. Aerobic exercises include jogging, swimming, biking, brisk walking, running, cycling, playing tennis, and jumping rope. Resistance training includes working out with free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, or body-resistance exercises such as push-ups, squats, and chin-ups. For those who are pregnant, it is beneficial to maintain a moderate routine of walking, swimming, or bike riding, unless you did not exercise before pregnancy, in which case milder exercises are recommended.
Flexibility and balance exercises such as yoga and tai chi are also important for maintaining stability and preventing falls that could cause injuries and limit other forms of exercise. These exercises can be done daily, before and after other forms of exercise.
Research has shown that regular exercise can help to control or modify many of the risk factors for heart disease. For example, it can reduce stress hormones that put an extra burden on the heart, lower blood pressure, and increase HDL ("good") cholesterol. It also improves the muscles' ability to extract oxygen from the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood to the muscles. Furthermore, studies have shown that people who exercise regularly are less likely to smoke and are at a lower risk of suffering a sudden heart attack or other life-threatening cardiac event.
While it is always best to consult a doctor, most research shows that any type of exercise that you enjoy and will perform regularly is beneficial. The general recommendation for adults is to engage in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking or bicycling.
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Frequently asked questions
Eating lots of foods high in saturated fat and trans fat may contribute to heart disease. To prevent this, eat foods high in fibre and low in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol. Also, limit your salt, sugar, and alcohol intake.
Eat a variety of foods from the five food groups, especially fruits and vegetables. At least five portions of fruits and vegetables a day have been shown to help lower your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases. You should also eat beans and pulses, which are low in fat and high in protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Aim for two portions of sustainably sourced fish per week, one of which is oily.
Avoid foods containing high levels of saturated and trans fats, such as butter, coconut and palm oil, lard, dripping, and copha. Also, limit your intake of salt and sugar, which can be found in packaged and processed foods. Avoid red and processed meat such as sausages, bacon, and cured meats, which have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease.
