The path to a healthy heart begins in the kitchen

Posted on March 23, 2014 by john in Health care

What is the best diet for your heart?

They say the fastest way to conquer the heart is the stomach. And if the saying is true for feelings, it is true also for your health. The same dish that makes you feel happy and satisfied (in addition to care for him who prepared carefully ), directly affects the good or bad performance of your heart. So the first step is to bring order to take care in the kitchen and in the diet.

Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide ? The World Health Organization reports that the total number of deaths from this condition worldwide is 7.5 million each year ( the latest figures are for 2008 ). With that news, you can not stay idly by, especially in this month of February, in the United States is National Heart Month. What will you do with yours ?

I recommend that the first step is to change your eating habits and I’ll explain why. Eat daily to several times a day. What you eat has a direct relation to your weight, your blood pressure, your cholesterol and blood glucose, all these factors influence heart health. A change in your diet can help prevent you develop heart disease, and if this has already been developed, to stop its progress and even help reverse it.

Below, I give a series of simple steps to change your eating habits or better :

1. Controls lots of food. As important as what you eat, is the amount of food that you eat, even if it is healthy. A healthy food, if you eat too much, it also makes you fat. Not the same a cup of rice, a plate full of rice, even integral. To find out how much you eat, you can use cups and measuring spoons, and a small kitchen weighing, portion control. Or, you can also use associations with common objects of everyday life to fill your plate, calculating quantities. The idea is that you serve smaller portions. For example :

The space occupied by a baseball, or your hand in a fist, or approximately one cup. Can you visualize this space at home ? Then fill it with :

A cup of salad greens ( spinach or romaine)
A cup of chopped carrots
A cup of chopped apple (or half a block )
A cup of vegetable soup
A cup of flaked cereal
A cup of strawberries ( strawberries ) - or 12 strawberries

An electric bulb can serve as a guide to measure roughly :

½ cup mashed potatoes
½ cup blueberries ( blueberries )
½ cup grapes
½ cup of ice cream
½ cup cooked rice ( preferably whole )

A pack of cards can help you measure

A 3-ounce serving ( 85 g ) Roast
A 3-ounce serving (85 grams ) of chicken breast

2. Reduce the amount of saturated fat and trans fats from your diet.

The best way is to decrease the amounts of solid fats such as butter, margarine or butter, when cooking or serving. Another way is to remove all the fat from the meat you buy, or buy lean meats with less than 10 % fat.
You can also make other substitutions : instead of butter or sour cream, use low-fat yogurt to accompany a papa ( potato ) roast, or low -sugar jam on toasted whole wheat bread instead of margarine.
Check the labels on all food baked goods like cookies, cakes (cakes) and chips ( fries ), which may contain trans fats. How can you identify ? Look for the words ” partially hydrogenated oils ” on the ingredient list.
Try to choose healthy fats like olive oil and canola oil.

3. Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables. They are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals and low in calories. I suggest :

Replace your fruit desserts or a mixed fruit salad.
If you feel like a snack, pour yourself diced celery or carrots with cottage cheese dressing.
Always keep a bowl of cut fruit in the fridge (refrigerator, ice chest ) as it gives you very hungry and can not wait for the next meal.
Fill a basket with fruit and exhíbela in the kitchen. So you will not forget it eating.
Try new recipes with vegetables as the main ingredient. In Life and Health offers a huge variety of healthy recipes and delicious dishes. I invite you to try.
Remember that not all fruits and vegetables are equal. What do I mean? Not the same fresh tomato salad that canned tomato soup full of sodium and chemicals ( always read the labels ). Avoid eating vegetables served with very thick creams, fried or breaded, fruits canned in heavy syrup ( syrup) or frozen fruits that have added sugar.

4. It also increases the consumption of foods rich in fiber. This whole grains (cereals, breads and pastas ) are included. Avoid refined products (flour, bread or white rice).

5. Limit consumption of salt. Keep in mind that the maximum recommended daily is the equivalent to a teaspoon of cooking, and many foods and contain. Instead, flavored with herbs and spices to flavor your food without having harming the health of your arteries and your heart.

6. Do not overdo the alcohol. A drink a day for women and two for men is what is considered ” moderate consumption “. Do not overdo. And if you used to drink the best. Save it for special occasions and even then, do so in moderation.

The rest of my recipe is as follows : enjoy what you eat. Findeth to prepare your meals and saboréalas. Eating is part of life and make healthy should not be a big sacrifice. Combine your new way of eating with regular physical activity, stress management and seeks to see how well ‘ll feel. It’s never too late to start ! Go ahead and start today.