A healthy diet is one of the most important ways you can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Here are some dietary tips to help prevent heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure:
Reduce Saturated Fat Consumption
Saturated fat is mostly found in animal products such as meat and dairy. Eating too much saturated fat can raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) and total cholesterol in your blood which can build up to block arteries, causing heart disease. Think about making these easy swaps in your diet;
REPLACE processed, deli meats with leaner cuts of meat and cut visible fat off meat
REPLACE butter with margarine
REPLACE full fat dairy products with reduced fat dairy products
REDUCE deep fried foods eg. chips, wedges, fried chicken.
REDUCE discretionary foods eg. pastries, pies, croissant, biscuits, cakes, chocolate.
Increase Healthy Fat Consumption
Choosing foods containing healthy fats such as omega 3 and unsaturated fats can help lower our blood cholesterol levels.
Include avocado, fish, nuts and seeds into your diet
Cook with olive, canola, peanut or sunflower oil
Include eggs
Increase Fibre
Eating fibre assists in lowering the bad cholesterol in your blood and controlling your blood glucose levels.
Choose wholegrain rice, wholegrain pasta, oats, multigrain or wholemeal bread and crackers instead of white alternatives to help lower your cholesterol
Add oats, legumes, beans, chickpeas for extra fibre in your diet!
Lower Salt Intake
Reducing salt in our diet can reduce our risk of high blood pressure.
Use herbs and spices to season your foods instead of salt.
Remove salt from the dinner table so you aren't tempted to add extra salt to meals
Increase Fruit and Veggies!
As we know, fruit and veggies contain a range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre to help reduce our risk of heart disease.
Eat the rainbow! Different coloured vegetables and fruits have different types of nutrients great for our overall health
Get creative! Think of extra ways to add veggies into your diet eg. Carrot and cucumber sticks, sneaking grated veggies into pasta dishes, fruit salad for snacks!
For individual advice on how to best manage your diet, book in with Olivia our Accredited Practising Dietitian at Total Exercise Physiology so she can tailor advice to your individual needs.
Olivia
Total Exercise Physiology APD
For individual advice on how to best manage your diet, book in with Olivia our Accredited Practising Dietitian at Total Exercise Physiology so she can tailor advice to your individual needs.