Wellness

Heart Healthy Eating

A healthy lifestyle reduces your risk for cardiovascular disease, the nation's number one killer. You can lower your risk by achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, regularly engaging in physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking.

Celebrate National Heart Month by making a trip to Russ's Market, where you'll find plenty of heart healthy foods. Here are some tips to help you make heart healthy choices:

• Consume a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. These foods are full of vitamins and minerals, low in calories, and high in fiber. Diets high in fruits and veggies aid in weight control, lower blood pressure, and decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease. For optimal benefits, aim for a variety of deeply colored fruits and vegetables, because these are higher in nutrients. There are plenty of options to pick from: berries, carrots, spinach, red grapes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus and more!
• Choose whole-grain, high fiber foods. Including whole-grains as part of a healthy diet can help with weight management, cholesterol reduction, and a decreased risk for heart disease. Try to make at least half of your grain choices whole-grains. How do you know if something is whole-grain? Don't be mislead by brown colored grains or those labeled "multi-grain" or "seven-grain" -- these are not necessarily whole-grains. The only way to know for sure is to read the food label. Check to see if the words "whole" or "whole grain" appear before the grain ingredient's name. The whole-grain should be the first ingredient listed. Other whole-grains include brown or wild rice, oatmeal, popcorn, graham flour, and bulgur. Another indicator is the fiber content. Grains that have a higher percent daily value (%DV) likely contain more whole-grains.
• Keep total fat intake between 20 - 35% of total calories. Most of these fats should come from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated sources, which can be beneficial to health when consumed in moderation. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive, canola, and peanut oils, as well as nuts. Polyunsaturated fats are found in fatty fish, such as salmon, herring, and trout, as well safflower, sunflower, corn, and flaxseed oils.
• Limit intake of saturated and trans fat. These fats raise LDL cholesterol, which can increase the risk for heart disease. Saturated fat should be kept to less than 7% of total calories and trans fat kept as low as possible. To keep your intake low, choose lean meats or meat alternatives, low-fat and fat free dairy products, and minimize your intake of partially hydrogenated fats (found in baked goods, snack foods, some margarines, and fried foods). Replace saturated and trans fat with mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
• Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Diets high in salt are linked to high blood pressure. Lower your intake by choosing fresh foods over processed and convenience foods, and buying reduced-sodium versions of foods. When cooking, add flavor by using herbs and spices in place of salt and seasoned salts.
• If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation. Limits on alcohol should be no more than 2 drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. "One drink" equals 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or a 1 1/2 ounce shot of 80-proof liquor.

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