Heart Healthy Eating

Heart disease is the scourge of American society. More than cancer or AIDS, more than car crashes or wars, heart disease is what is putting more Americans in the grave than any other cause. And the unfortunate thing is that, in all but the most extreme cases, heart disease is eminently preventable.

Heart healthy eating is first and foremost on the prevention list and, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Heart healthy eating basically means eating things that are natural - nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables - and eschewing the pre-packaged, over-processed snacks that predominate in American cupboards. Get rid of those Twinkies, Ho-hos and Doritos, or they'll put you in the ground once all is said and done.

It's a logical thing, heart healthy eating, if you really think of it. Humans have evolved over eons to process the energy of the sun. We process it by consuming plants that themselves process the energy of the sun on a more basic level. It's simple science: We've evolved to break down the nutrients in natural foods, and we can process those nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than anything we've yet created in a lab.

Other aspects of heart healthy eating to pay attention to are both balance and portion control. Balance means eating the right percentage of certain foods - again, vegetables and fruits, nuts and berries are the important ones - in relation to other foods. Yes, we all love a good steak once in a while. And yes, we're omnivores. But mankind had millions of years to evolve to digest food that grows in the soil or from trees; we've not been eating animals near so long. So for every serving of steak or any other flesh, you should have three or more of fruits, vegetables, nuts or berries.

The Mayo Clinic, one of the premier hospitals in the United States, gives this piece of advice on heart healthy eating on their website at mayoclinic.com:

The best way to reduce saturated and trans fats in your diet is to limit the amount of solid fats - butter, margarine and shortening - you add to food when cooking and serving. Use low-fat substitutions when possible for a heart-healthy diet. For example, top your baked potato with salsa or low-fat yogurt rather than butter, or use low-sugar fruit spread on your toast instead of margarine. You may also want to check the food labels of some cookies, crackers and chips. Many of these snacks - even those labeled "reduced fat" - may be made with oils containing trans fats. One clue that a food has some trans fat in it is the phrase "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredient list

When you do use fats, choose monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil or canola oil. Polyunsaturated fats, found in nuts and seeds, also are good choices for a heart-healthy diet. When used in place of saturated fat, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may help lower your total blood cholesterol. But moderation is essential. All types of fat are high in calories.