Diet & Nutrition

A heart healthy Nutrition plan, Additional Tips

Nutrition & Your Heart

The food that you eat affects many of the important risk factors associated with heart disease, for example:

• Cholesterol levels
• Blood pressure
• Weight and waist circumference

How much you weigh is important, but where you carry your excess weight also matters. People who store excess fat around their stomachs have a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes than those who carry it around their hips.

Follow a heart healthy nutrition plan that:

• Limits saturated and trans fats
• Includes healthy fats and oils
• Increases vegetables, fruit, fibre, and whole grains
• Reduces salt and sugar

A Heart Healthy Nutrition Plan

Eat a variety of foods from each food group every day. Eat three small meals daily with small snacks, instead of one to two large meals.

To achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, remember that how much you eat counts.
Choose smaller servings (e.g., a small potato, instead of large, 3/4 cup of rice instead of 1 cup, 4 oz chicken breast instead of 6 or 8 oz).

Vegetables & Fruit

(Aim to fill 1/2 of your plate.)

Choose more dark green, red, and orange fruits and vegetables daily, for example:

• Tomatoes
• Red, yellow, and green peppers
• Sweet potatoes
• Broccoli
• Peas
• Carrots
• Red cabbage
• Apricots
• Oranges
• Mangoes
• Berries
• Dried fruit
• Kiwis
• Melons

Choose fresh or frozen vegetables, and include fruit when choosing a dessert or snack.

Grain Products (Starch)
(Aim to fill 1/4 of your plate.)

Choose high-fibre cereals, such as:

• Oatmeal
• Shredded wheat
• All-Bran Bran Buds with psyllium

Choose whole-grain breads, such as:

• Whole wheat
• Multigrain
• Pumpernickel and rye breads

Choose a variety of grains:

• Brown rice
• Barley
• Quinoa
• Bulgur
• Whole-wheat pasta

Consider other grain options:

• Ground flax seed in salads, cereal, soups, yogourt, casseroles, and baking
• Air-popped popcorn or light microwave popcorn
• Unsalted pretzels
• Homemade bagel or pita chips
• Vanilla wafers and ginger snaps

Choose SPARINGLY from these commercial products:

• Cream-filled or shortbread cookies
• Pies, croissants, doughnuts, pastries, cakelike muffins
• Salty snack foods

Meat & Alternatives (Protein)
(Aim to fill 1/4 of your plate.)

• SELECT ONLY LEAN CUTS AND TRIM ALL VISIBLE FAT
• Remove skin from poultry before cooking
• Choose fish two to four times a week and avoid deep-fried batter-coated fish
• A few times a week, include meatless meals, such as: vegetarian chili, burritos with beans, split pea or lentil soup, hummus, meatless curries, baked beans, tofu, soy burgers, and vegetarian meat alternatives
• Choose omega-3 eggs more often than regular eggs, to a maximum of two to three eggs a week
• Healthy cooking methods include: baking, broiling, stir frying, steaming, roasting, poaching, grilling, and barbecuing
• Choose rarely: salami, sausage, bacon, hot dogs, pepperoni, and deli meat such as bologna

Milk & Alternatives

• Choose lower fat varieties, including skim milk or 1 per cent, fortified soy beverage, plain or fruit yogourt with 1 per cent milk fat or less, frozen yogourt or ice milk, and lower fat cheese with 15 per cent milk fat or less
• Choose rarely: regular milk products, such as whole milk, butter, cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese

Fats & Oils

• Choose from among the following oils: olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, corn, sesame, walnut, or peanut
• Choose non-hydrogenated margarines
• Choose lower fat varieties of mayonnaise, salad dressings, and sour cream
• Choose natural nut butters, such as: peanut, almond, and hazelnut
• Enjoy nuts and seeds as an accent to food, for example, one tbsp on top of salads or stir fries
• Choose rarely: butter, lard, and hydrogenated fats, such as shortening and hard margarine
• Choose rarely: any deep-fried foods, including snack foods made with hydrogenated vegetable oils
• Read the nutrition labels to compare and choose foods with fewer saturated and trans fats

Salt

• Use fresh or dried herbs, unsalted spices, lemon juice, and flavoured vinegars to boost flavour during food preparation
• Try Mrs. Dash or McCormick’s No Added Salt seasoning blends
• Reduce or limit salt in cooking and avoid adding salt at the table
• Prepare meals using fresh ingredients
• Choose rarely: processed foods, such as: deli meats, canned/packaged soups, pickles, soy sauce, salted snack foods, commercial coatings for meats, frozen dinners, vegetable juices, canned vegetables, and fast foods
• Read the nutrition labels, compare similar items, and choose foods with less sodium

Alcohol

LIMIT ALCOHOL TO A MAXIMUM OF TWO SERVINGS A DAY FOR MEN AND ONE SERVING A DAY FOR WOMEN. ONE SERVING EQUALS 125 ML (4 OZ) WINE OR 355 ML (12 OZ) BEER OR 45 ML (1.5 OZ) LIQUOR.

Additional Nutrition Tips

Fruit & Veggie Power

Eat at least two cups of vegetables and two to four fruits every day. The brighter the colour, the better. Eat fruit for dessert or as a snack.

Fibre Up

Choose whole-grain and fibre-rich products, dried beans, and lentils. Have a small handful of nuts or seeds every now and then.

Fats: Be Choosy

Choose oils such as canola and olive and non-hydrogenated margarines instead of animal, hydrogenated, and trans fats. Reduce portions of meat, and choose lower-fat milk products.

Fish for Omega-3s

Eat two to four servings of fish each week.

Fresh Is Best

Choose fresh ingredients and flavour foods with herbs and spices instead of salt.