Heart Healthy Diet Tips – Avoid These Unhealthy Foods

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A high proportion of Americans are obese and at risk for heart disease. The chief cause of obesity is that the use of unhealthy foods like fast food, which tends to be loaded with trans fat and saturated fat. If you can not cut out fatty foods altogether, then it’s very important to minimize how much you eat so as to maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. Here are five kinds of food items to avoid.

Restaurant Fried Food – The oil used to fry foods in restaurants and fast food joints is not very healthy for your heart. Most fried foods at restaurants contain trans fat – a kind of fatty acid that’s bad for your cardiovascular system. Some restaurants have started to use trans fat free skillet. Many fast food restaurants promote this change however, you can ask what sort of frying oil is employed in any restaurant. If you aren’t certain, avoid fried foods . Even if they are not high in trans fat, fried foods tend to be higher in total fat than other menu choices. Instead, select grilled meats, fresh side dishes of beans or veggies and non-pastry desserts.

Full Fat Milk (as a regular drink) – Many individuals have switched from drinking whole milk to reduce fat variations – nonfat milk (skim), 1 percent milk (low fat) or 2% milk (reduced fat). When you haven’t made the change, do it now! 1 glass of whole milk contains 4.5 grams of saturated fat, compared with 0g in skim milk, 1.5 g in 1% milk, and 3 g in 2% milk.

Processed Foods High in Sodium – With the abundance of meals available in our supermarkets, it’s easy to rely on the ease and taste of processed foods. But it’s tough to eat a low sodium diet when you eat a good deal of pre-processed packaged foods. Canned soups, frozen foods and packed snacks are simply a couple items that you find at the store which could be quite high in sodium. Examine the food label for the sodium content. The target for a healthy adult is to consume less than 2300 mg sodium every day. In case you have cardiovascular disease or a high risk of cardiovascular disease, eat less than 1500 milligrams every day. In place of these things, select fresh or homemade options. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables with little additional salt, homemade baked goods, easy meals and healthy snacks such as whole grains, seeds and nuts.

Processed Foods Containing Trans Fat – Trans fat is found in many processed foods and scientists now know that eating trans fat may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Even smaller amounts of trans fat can be detrimental. Even if the trans fat value is zero, avoid foods with hydrogenated vegetable oils in the ingredient listing. Foods to be watchful of are margarines, baked goods, packaged pie crust, microwave popcorn and a few frozen veggies such as frozen french fries. Be cautious of bakery products, too. Baked products from smaller bakeries are often not required to list the nutrient content of their food. So the trans fat content is unknown. Ingredient lists are required, however, enabling you to prevent baked products made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Soft Drinks – consuming soft drinks everyday can be unhealthy for your heart. Regular soft drinks are extremely high in sugar, which means plenty of calories and no additional nutrient benefits. And even diet and low-fat soda have been demonstrated to be associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. One reason might be that your body has trouble keeping a healthy weight when you drink pop. Breaking the soda habit can be rough. Among the best things you can do to help reach a healthy weight is to drink milk or water with meals and water to quench thirst. This way, you can save the calories for healthy foods.

Bear in mind, you may be unable to fully eliminate unhealthy, fatty foods out of your diet but by cutting back you’ll be raising heart health. Exercising for 20 or 30 minutes daily, coupled with dietary improvements, could extend your life by years — not months!

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