The healthy heart mantra: Watch what you eat

Healthy living begins with healthy eating. The simple ways to do it - manage your portions, eat the healthier version of your food of choice, ditch the sauces and pickles, and regulate your meal timin

What we are is what we eat. In other words, healthy food means a healthy body, and poor eating habits – read junk food, processed food, tobacco and alcohol consumption – lead to an unhealthy body and disposition. A healthy heart is an indicator of a healthy body. Thus, it is crucial we eat foods that keep our heart strong, healthy and happy.

On the occasion of World Heart Day, it becomes important to have a look at what we eat, and how we eat it. Do we indulge our sweet tooth, do we like our fries like nothing else, and are Fridays usually pizza nights. Not only do such foods add girth to our sides, they also make the heart sluggish and more prone to heart diseases. Let’s take World Heart Day 2014 as a promise to ourselves to eat healthy.

It’s easier said than done, however. Years of unhealthy eating can’t be done overnight and their ill effects can’t be flushed out of the system. It is a slow and steady process that is sure to benefit you. What’s more, it also becomes a part of your lifestyle, thus ensuring maximum benefits. Some of the aspects of healthy eating habits for a healthier heart include:

1. Concentrate on fruits and vegetables: A good source of vitamins and minerals and low in calories, fruits and vegetables are also said to contain substances that prevent heart diseases. High on fibre, fruits and vegetables are best eaten raw or stir fried. But make sure you avoid tinned and canned foods because they contain added sugar syrups.

2. Think before you eat: Just because it is delicious doesn’t mean you should have the third helping. Weight control is a big contributor to a healthy heart. The closer you weigh to your ideal weight, the more efficiently your heart can pump blood into your body. The more you weigh, the more your ticker has to work to pump. Ensure you have a good idea of your portion sizes and that you stick to them. Having cheat days once in a while don’t harm, though.

3. Go whole: Opt for whole grains as much as you can, for they are excellent sources of nutrients and fibre, which are important to regulate blood pressure and ensure your heart stays healthy. Apart from opting for whole grains and saying no to processed flour, it is also good to add flaxseeds to your daily diet, since they are high in fibre and omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for lowering blood cholesterol.

4. Eat lean, eat right: There’s good fat and then there’s bad fat. The secret is to reduce foods that increase the bad fats and eat foods that encourage the production of good fats. The thumb rule – cut out solid fats such as butter, shortening and margarine. Go for monosaturated fats such olive oil and canola oil. Nuts and seeds, which are an excellent source of polysaturated fats help lower cholesterol levels.

5. Pack in the right proteins: Choose your protein source with care. For vegetarians, legumes such as beans, lentils and peas are great protein sources and they don’t contain cholesterol and little fat. In fact, even non-vegetarians can consider replacing animal protein with plant protein. However, if it is animal protein that you can’t do without, opt for lean meat, poultry, egg whites, egg substitutes and skimmed milk. Fish is an excellent choice and it doesn’t get better than salmon, mackerel and herring.

6. As the World Health Organisation has pointed out, too, for this World Heart Day, controlling our salt intake can do a long way towards a healthy heart. Eating more sodium than what the body needs can lead to high blood pressure, which is the starting of cardiovascular diseases. For instance, a healthy adult needs no more than 2,300 mg of sodium on a daily basis. People who are more than 51 years of age should cut down their sodium intake to no more than 1,500 mg. Hidden sodium culprits include tomato ketchup, soy sauce, table salt and canned soups and tinned foods.

7. Plan your meals: By planning your food menus in advance not only reduces food wastage and increases savings, it also gives you a better idea about healthier food options that you can choose. It helps you stock up your food cabinets well in advance so that you don’t make poor eating choices in a hurry.