Types of Heart Diet – Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. To reduce the risk of developing this disease, you must adopt a healthy lifestyle, including a heart-healthy diet. What is a healthy diet like to maintain heart health?
Healthy Diet Principles for the Heart
Some foods can increase your risk for heart disease. Therefore, a healthy diet for the heart is important for those of you who have never had or have had this disease.
The following are dietary principles to maintain heart health.
1. Reduce consumption of bad fats
Excessive consumption of foods containing saturated and trans fats can increase the risk of heart disease. The reason is, foods with bad fats cause plaque blockage in the bloodstream, which is the cause of heart disease.
2. Increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which are good for maintaining heart health. In addition, both of them also contain antioxidants, which not only reduce the risk of heart disease but also other cardiovascular diseases.
3. Eat more fiber
Fiber is an important component in food that can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Its consumption can reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the body, which is the main cause of heart disease.
4. Change animal protein to vegetable
Animal proteins such as meat, especially the skin, increase levels of bad cholesterol and saturated fat in the body. To implement a heart diet, you can fill your daily menu with vegetable protein, which is richer in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.
5. Limit salt consumption
According to the Mayo Clinic, eating too many foods high in salt can cause high blood pressure. This has the potential to develop into heart disease. Ideally, adults should consume no more than one teaspoon of salt per day.
6. Choose low-fat food products
When choosing products such as meat, cheese, yogurt, or milk, choose low-fat foods so that heart health is maintained. A low-fat heart diet is not only good for the heart, but it also helps keep blood pressure within normal limits.
7. Do not overeat
Excessive food consumption increases the risk of obesity, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Try to eat according to normal portions to maintain your ideal weight.
Keep in mind, preventing heart disease with a healthy diet is certainly not enough. Therefore, you can apply several other healthy lifestyles, such as not smoking, exercising regularly, managing stress, and getting enough rest.
Types of Diet for Heart Disease
Living with heart disease is certainly not easy. Apart from adopting a healthy diet, you can also try several types of diets that are good for maintaining heart health.
You can try the following diets for heart disease:
1. The Mediterranean Diet
In a study released in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, it was stated that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of heart disease and death by up to 40 percent.
In this diet, you are required to consume more foods such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and nuts.
The Mediterranean diet requires you to limit or eliminate foods high in sugar, red meat, and processed meats. You can still eat foods such as eggs, low-fat dairy, and poultry in moderation.
2. Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)
The DASH diet is intended to help prevent or treat hypertension. Of course, when your blood pressure is within normal ranges, your chances of developing or recurrent heart disease are lower.
In this diet, you are asked to focus more on consuming whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and low-fat products or meat. On the other hand, the consumption of foods such as red meat, sugar, and salt must be limited.
3. Vegetarian diet
A vegetarian diet allows you to receive more fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. Depending on the type of vegetarian diet you choose, you are still allowed to consume animal-derived products such as eggs and milk.
Various nutrients from this diet are good for maintaining your heart health because they can help reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the body. According to several studies, a vegetarian diet has also been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of heart disease and death.
4. Diet Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC)
This diet was developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. This diet has the following principles.
- Fat accounts for 25-35% of daily calorie requirements.
- Limit saturated fat consumption to no more than 7% of daily calorie needs.
- Cholesterol intake limit of no more than 200 mg per day.
- Consume 10–25 grams of water-soluble fiber daily.
- Consume at least two grams of stanols and sterols (plant dietary fiber) daily.
- Don’t overeat to keep your weight normal.
5. Low-carb diet
A low-carb diet can help improve heart health by reducing risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and excess cholesterol.
As the name implies, this diet requires you to limit your consumption of carbohydrates such as rice, bread, potatoes, and sweet foods.
