A Heart Healthy Diet Makeover
Meri Raffetto RD

Heart Disease remains the number one cause of death in the U.S. among both men and women. Part of the problem is it is truly a silent killer. There are few warning signs of a heart attack and the signs that are there dont necessarily make us feel bad. The good news is there are many lifestyle changes you can make to significantly decrease your risk of heart disease. Here are 9 simple steps to make over your diet for heart health.

1.Use the right fats: The good fats are found to preserve HDL (protective cholesterol) and lower LDL (Bad Cholesterol) levels. The good fats are found in foods such as olive, canola, and peanut oils as well as nuts, avocados and olives.

2.Decrease the Saturated Fats: These fats tend to increase the cholesterol made by your body. They can increase your total and LDL (Bad) cholesterol levels. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as dairy, poultry (especially the skin), meats, butter and cream based sauces and dressings. It is not necessary to omit these foods, just choose leaner options and have the higher fat foods once in awhile.

3.Remove all Trans Fats from your pantry! : Trans Fats are oils that have been hardened by the hydrogenation process, such as stick margarine and shortening used to make commercial baked goods, chips, and fast foods. Like saturated fats, these fats increase total blood cholesterol and LDL (Bad) cholesterol levels and may even lower HDL (Good) cholesterol levels. Food labels will be required to list the amount of Trans fats in a food product by 2006. Until then, if the ingredient list on the food label includes the term hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated, it contains Trans Fats. Avoid these products!

4.Increase Your Fiber! : Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol levels in the blood by binding to cholesterol in the intestine so it cannot be absorbed by the body. Good food sources of soluble fiber include beans and legumes, oranges, apples, prunes, broccoli, carrots, oat bran, oatmeal, and some cereals. Use whole grain products in place of their white counterparts. Eat at least 20-40 grams of fiber a day. (Most Americans only eat around 12 grams of fiber a day.)

5.Omega-3 Fatty Acids every day: Omega-3 Fatty Acids are essential fatty acids meaning we have to get them from our diet. These fatty acids may reduce the risk of blood clotting, decrease inflammation, lower triglyceride levels, normalize heart rhythms and improve the immune system. Consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids daily may reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death by 50-70%. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in: fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, lake trout, halibut, and sardines. Other sources include ground flax seeds, soybeans, canola oil, and walnuts.

6.Five To Eight Fruits and Vegetables a day: Eating fruits and vegetables can help to decrease your risk of heart disease, cancer, cataracts, and can help to lower blood pressure. Fruits and Vegetables are loaded in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. The more fruits and veggies you eat, the more antioxidant activity in your body.
How do antioxidants work? Every day we are exposed to free radicals from our diets, sun, chemical exposure, pollution, etc. These free radicals promote the plaque build up in our arteries leading us to increased risk of heart disease. Antioxidants work by neutralizing these free radicals before they can cause damage to our bodies.

7.Folic Acid: High levels of an amino acid called homocysteine in the blood have been associated with damage to the blood-vessel walls, increased blood clotting, and overall increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Folate is a B vitamin which has been shown to decrease these homocysteine levels in the blood. Good food sources of Folate include green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, beet greens, and chard as well as legumes, asparagus, broccoli, oranges, orange juice, whole and fortified grains, walnuts and peanuts.

8.Add some almonds! Studies show that eating an ounce of almonds a day can help to lower your cholesterol. A matter of fact, a recent study published in Journal of the American Medical Association found that eating a diet that included plant sterol margarine (such as Benecol or ProActiv), soy products, almonds and increase fiber was able to lower cholesterol levels as much as the statin drugs and in just 2 weeks time! Have an ounce of almonds as a snack, or sprinkle them in your cereal or salad.

9.Have a little soy: Soy has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels.
Using soy on a weekly basis is a great step towards protecting your heart. If you are not a tofu fan, try soy milk or yogurt, garden burgers, edamme (soy beans), or soy sausage patties. There are all kinds of ways to include soy in your diet!

Sample Heart Healthy Meal Makeover:

Sample day
Before:
Breakfast:
– glass of orange juice
– 2 fried eggs
– 3 slices of bacon
– 2 slices white bread with 3 tsp butter
Lunch:
– roast beef sandwich on white bread
– potato chips
Snack:
– 1 cup Cheez It crackers
Dinner:
– fried fish strips
– 1 cup mashed potatoes cooked w/whole milk and butter
– cup corn

Diet make over:
Breakfast:
-glass of calcium fortified orange juice
– scrambled egg beaters
– 1-2 slices of whole grain bread with 1-2 tsp Benocol or ProActive spread
– 1-2 slices soy bacon or sausage links
Lunch:
– turkey, lettuce, tomato, and avocado sandwich
– 1 cup vegetable soup
– 8 oz vanilla non-fat yogurt with 1/3 cup of berries added
Snack:
1 ounce almonds
Dinner:
-3 ounces baked or broiled salmon
– cup broiled red potatoes with olive oil
– cup broccoli
– 1-2 cups of salad with cut up pears and toasted walnuts
with 1TB olive oil vinaigrette salad dressing

Results:
Day 1 = 2300 calories and 114 grams fat; 98 grams sat fat; 45% calories from fat
Day 2 = 1800 calories and 58 grams fat; 14 grams sat fat; 29% calories from fat.

Making small changes can go a long way to improve your heart health! What changes can you start making?

Meri Raffetto, 2005

About the Author

Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She has developed two online weight management programs, The Mini Diet Makeover and The Ultimate Diet Makeover, which focus on a healthy, non-diet approach to weight loss. For more information or to sign up for our free newsletter, visit www.reallivingnutrition.com.

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Teen weight loss: Taking it slowly is still the best

According to recent studies more kids nowadays are mild to severely overweight. The 1999-2000 National health survey indicates that 15 % of children and teens are overweight.

The figure is nearly double that what was recorded a decade or so ago. Some blame their present lifestyle while others blame the lack of discipline in teens nowadays. Regardless of the reasons, teen weight problems are real.

But unlike weight loss programs for adults, teen weight loss programs are a little tricky since such programs when left uncheck can be potentially dangerous for their health. Because of the potential danger, dietitian and nutrition experts approach the subject with caution.

The basic problem with teen weight loss is that their bodies are still growing and developing and cutting down food intake will greatly influence their growth. It is therefore important that diet programs for teens should cover all their nutritional needs.

For teenagers, they generally need to grasp some basic concepts about eating right. If they eat too little, their health will be put at risk. But similarly, if they eat more that they should, the extra food turns into body fat causing weight issues. Teenagers should learn to eat food less with saturated fats.

These foods include those fried in fat and oil like fried chicken, burgers, potato chips, french fries, potato chips and other fatty meat. Meanwhile, they also should avoid foods that are high in fat and sugar contents like cakes, chocolates, butter, cream, peanut butter, pies, cookies, and generally any sweets and sweet based desserts.

A lot of diet programs claim to be the best solutions for over weight teens. These claims generally revolve around two basic concepts: the right diet and regular exercise. In reality, the quickest and easiest way for teens to loose weight is still the having the right diet and right exercise. Teens should always avoid diet pills.

Most of the kids or teens today eat fast foods, get exceedingly large food portions and are really extremely lazy lacking the necessary activities to build a healthy body. Simple outdoor activities for teens can help them loose some of their excess body weight. When you cut grass use a push mower, for example. Engage in activities like playing Frisbee which would help you exercise without even realizing it.

There’s really no quick way to loose weight. You need to work the excess fat off your body. It is the right combination of diet and exercise which will help you loose weight. But the problem with dieting and exercising is keeping motivated and goal oriented. Kids find dieting intimidating and regular exercise boring.

This is why full family support is necessary if you want your kids to loose some weight. You need to keep your kids and teens motivated. Encourage them and help them overcome their cravings by cooking, serving and eating the same food diets that they eat. Get them to be more active. If they find regular exercises boring, join them in other activities such as sports.

Teach them what to look for when they eat outdoors. Tell them the benefits of foods and teach them how to read food labels. You may be able to control their diet while they stay home but when they go outside and eat with friends, then you might have a problem. It is therefore important in any diet to implant a sense of self discipline and pride in what they do.

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People are busier than ever before. Several decades ago, the so-called experts predicted we would be living a life of leisure and that there would be almost no need to work at all. The reality that we live in now is much different; we are working more and under more stress. It doesn’t take much of a leap to figure out why people are eating out more often, and how that can lead to obesity. Still, eating outside of the home is convenient, so having a restaurant calorie counter can be a real life saver.

If you have ever tried losing weight, then you know how difficult it can be. Anything you can use to help you lose weight is a good thing. A restaurant calorie counter is the ideal tool for helping you stay on your diet when eating out. It just makes sense to have this information on hand.

A big problem people have is unrealistic expectations. They decide they need to lose weight, and vow to make super-healthy meals at home. They envision themselves in the kitchen making nutritious foods from scratch, and sitting down to a nice home-cooked meal. If you can do this, then that’s great, but be honest about it. If you’re not already in the habit of making meals at home, then being on a diet won’t be enough to change that.

It’s much better to face the fact that you’re the type of person who likes to eat out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it’s best to be realistic before starting a diet. Of course, once you’re in a restaurant you still have to watch what you eat, and that’s where a restaurant calorie counter can be so helpful.

Well, ‘helpful’ is one way to describe it, but ‘vital’ may be more accurate. While you can always check food labels for the items you have at home, very few restaurants put any kind of nutritional information right on the menu. Some fast food places will have a brochure that lists the info, but it’s rare for a regular restaurant to publish this information.

Without a restaurant calorie counter, the only thing you can do is guess how many calories you’re eating. That may sound reasonable, but studies have shown that people consistently underestimate the number of calories in the food they eat; and if you’re on a diet, then you can’t afford to be too far off. If you underestimate, then you may overeat; if you overestimate, then you may feel hungry all the time.

When selecting a calorie guide, it’s best to make sure it includes the restaurants you visit most. Of course not all locally owned restaurants will be covered, but most guides will give you a pretty close approximation for most foods. For example, if it’s an Italian restaurant, then make sure that the restaurant calorie counter you get includes listings for the foods most typically served at Italian restaurants.

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In spite of what it sounds like, a calorie counter watch is not something that watches the calories you eat. While it doesn’t have anything to do with the calories you eat, it does have to do with the number of calories you burn. What it does, basically, is keeps track of your heart rate and then converts that into an estimate of how many calories you are burning at any given moment.

As you can see, a calorie counter watch is a very useful gadget for anybody trying to get into shape or trying to lose some weight. It doesn’t matter what your goals are, such a watch can greatly increase your chances of success.

It all comes down to two things: how many calories you’re taking in and how many you’re burning. While it’s pretty easy to read food labels to see how many calories are in the food you’re eating, exercise doesn’t come with any labels. Also, guessing is not a good way to get healthy, so having a way of measuring calories burned is a smart idea.

Some people think that a calorie counter watch is only meant for people who want to lose weight, but that simply is not the case. A calorie counter watch is also useful for athletes and anyone who wants to improve their overall state of health. When you have the watch on you will have a good idea of how much activity you’re engaging in throughout the day and can increase it if you’re lagging behind.

Having accurate knowledge of your calories (consumed or burned) is essential to getting fit or losing weight. Several studies have been done that show people are not very good at estimating calories. Keep in mind that 3,500 calories is equivalent to one pound of body weight. Now, if you are only 100 calories off on a single food item or a single exercise session; you could actually, in theory, be gaining weight when you think you’re losing it.

It just makes a lot of sense to use any tools you can to help you get into shape. A calorie counter watch is one of those tools that can really help. Another benefit some people have found when using these watches is that they are motivated by them. They can see how many calories they are burning, and automatically start trying to get the number to go up.

So, not only can a calorie counter watch help you keep track of how many calories you are burn when engaged in physical activity, but it can also help you to feel motivated to burn even more calories. There is no question that having such a watch is a good way to get you to achieve any fitness or weight loss goals you may have.

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