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March 2009: Nutrition - The "Heart" Of A Healthy Lifestyle
Truly, good nutrition is at the “HEART” of any healthy lifestyle. A healthy heart depends on many things including eating habits, exercise, genes, and stress management. And while you can’t do much about changing the actual genes your parents pass on to you, you CAN greatly influence how they work by eating foods that promote good health, committing to daily exercise, and practicing stress management reduction techniques.
When it comes to eating heart healthy foods, one of the best things we can do for our hearts is to commit to eating an anti-inflammatory diet.
So just what is an anti-inflammatory diet you might ask?
Essentially, it is a diet that includes foods known to lower inflammation within the body. Until recently, it was thought that heart disease resulted primarily from fatty plaque build ups in our arteries. Numerous studies have since confirmed that the foods we eat can either “promote” or “prevent” the inflammatory process within our bodies and have a much greater impact on overall heart health than previously thought. The foods that “promote” inflammation are those most prevalent in the Standard American Diet (SAD) such as saturated fats, trans-fatty acids and refined carbohydrates (highly processed foods) that are essentially stripped of all of their nutrients. Conversely, anti-inflammatory “whole” foods are those foods that help prevent the reactions that spark inflammation and promote good health. These foods are nutrient rich, provide steady energy, ample vitamins, minerals, fiber and essential fatty acids – which are all important to a healthy diet. It is important to remember that the anti-inflammatory diet is not a “diet” in the popular sense; that is, it is not a weight loss program - Rather, it is a way of eating that promotes not only heart health but an overall sense of well being! So be sure to include the following foods in your daily diet to help promote a healthy heart, and ultimately your A Healthy You!
- Eat a “whole foods” plant based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes
- Choose fish such as wild salmon, halibut, sardines, or tuna once or twice a week
- Avoid unhealthy fats found in many animal products and those foods that are designed to have a long shelf life
- When eating meat and dairy, choose low fat items
- Include daily servings of whole grains and fiber rich foods such as beans and legumes – aim for 30 grams of fiber per day
- Minimize consumption of “processed” carbohydrates including white four, sugar and packaged foods
- Use olive oil as your primary fat source
- Include daily servings of garlic, onions, shallots, leeks and scallions