A low-fat heart diet aims to reduce your salt (sodium), cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fat intake. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a low-fat heart diet to lower the risk of stroke and heart attack. Reducing sodium helps some people to lower their blood pressure. Reducing fat and cholesterol in the diet helps people with coronary heart disease not to develop blockages in their arteries.
Cooking Tips for the Heart Healthy Diet
1.Choose foods that are lower in fat and cholesterol. This includes lean meats. The leanest cuts of beef are the round, chuck, sirloin and loin. The leanest cuts of pork are the loin chop and the tenderloin. Choose lamb cuts from the loin, arm and leg. Select extra lean or lean ground beef.
2.Limit consumption to a recommended 6 oz. per day of cooked lean meat, fish, poultry or seafood.
3.Chicken and turkey are lower in fat and cholesterol than goose or duck.
4.Incorporate meals that don't feature meat as the main course, such as pizza, spaghetti or eggplant lasagna.
5.Reduce fat consumption by baking, broiling, roasting or stewing rather than frying or sauteing.
6.When you bake, roast or broil, use a rack to drain off fat.
7.Baste with marinade, wine or fruit juices rather than with fat drippings, oil or butter.
8.When you cook chicken, remove the skin first. If you prefer to leave it on, then simply remove the skin before you eat it.
9.Processed foods often have high sodium and fat content. Beware of items such as hot dogs, salami, sausage and bologna. Eat these sparingly, and read the labels thoroughly to check the ingredients.
10.Look for the AHA heart symbol on packaged foods---it indicates foods that have passed heart-healthy standards.
11.Limit consumption of organ meats as they are usually very high in cholesterol.
12.Seafood is recommended twice per week. It is better for you if it is baked, broiled, grilled or boiled than fried.
13.Flavor your foods with herbs and spices, rather than with salt, butter or meat drippings.
14.Generally, the closer a vegetable is to the raw state, the more vitamins and minerals it offers. Next to raw, steaming offers the most nutritional benefits.
15.Liquid vegetable oils are better than solid fats, butter, lard or shortening. Olive oil is the best vegetable oil for a low-fat heart diet.
16.Choose low-fat or fat-free milk and dairy products.
17.When a recipe calls for oil in the mix, you can replace the oil with applesauce or other pureed fruits.
18.Egg whites are low in cholesterol. It is the yolk that contains the most cholesterol. Organic eggs may contain less cholesterol than factory farm eggs.
19.Be careful of canned meats, canned vegetables or other processed foods. They often have high sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat. Reduce the salt in canned foods by draining the liquid and rinsing the vegetables before you eat them.
20. According to the AHA, "People with high LDL (bad) blood cholesterol levels or who are taking cholesterol medication should consume less than 200 mg of cholesterol per day."
Increase Whole Grain and Fiber Intake
According to the AHA, people with high LDL (bad) cholesterol levels or who are taking cholesterol medication should also eat at least 25 g to 30 g of dietary fiber each day---preferably from whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. To increase your fiber intake, eat more whole fruits, brown rice, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.
Oatmeal and other whole grains help reduce cholesterol and clean the arteries. Be careful when choosing whole grains. Unless a package specifically says "whole grain," the food probably is not whole grain. For example, wheat germ and wheat bran are not whole grains. When a package says wheat bread, it may actually be refined wheat flour, which does not include much fiber. Read the fine print. Advertising can be misleading. Whole grains contain the whole grain kernel, which includes the bran, the germ and the endosperm.
Examples of whole grains are:
a.Whole wheat flour
b.Bulgur (cracked wheat)
c.Oats
d.Whole cornmeal
e.Brown rice
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