Heatlhy Eating for a Healthy Heart

• Description
• Table of Contents
• An excerpt from this report

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A century or so ago, the biggest health threats for Americans were infection, malnutrition, and poor sanitation. But today, more lives are in jeopardy from chronic conditions chiefly attributable to diet—chief among them, heart disease. In fact, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

While genes, age, and sex are contributing factors, the development of heart disease is largely related to lifestyle factors and therefore is preventable. Research shows that more than 80% of heart disease can be prevented by eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising daily, not smoking, and drinking alcohol in moderation. If you’ve already been diagnosed with heart disease or have a major risk factor such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, changing how you eat can help you better manage these conditions and lower your risk of heart attack.

In this healthy heart diet report, you will find practical eating guidelines based on the best science available. You’ll read about how to achieve a healthy weight and eat well at the same time. You’ll learn about the basics of a healthful (and tasty) diet, how to plan a balanced meal at home, and what to eat when you dine out. Finally, you’ll learn about wholesome snacks and food substitutions, so that you don’t feel deprived on the road to better eating. As an added bonus, we’ve included 40 heart-healthy, original recipes created by a chef. 50 pages. (updated: 2007)

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Table of Contents:

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Here's an Excerpt from this Healthy Heart Diet Special Health Report

Unhealthy cholesterol levels increase your risk of heart disease, which is why experts recommend that you keep your cholesterol levels within the healthy range. But don’t be fooled into thinking that foods labeled “cholesterol free” or “low cholesterol” are necessarily heart-healthy—or, for that matter, that foods that contain cholesterol are heart-risky. The reality is more complicated.

Foods containing high levels of saturated fats or trans fats—such as potato chips and packaged cookies—can boost cholesterol levels in your body much more significantly than cholesterol-containing foods such as eggs. Saturated fat and trans fat both increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and boost levels of triglycerides (another fat in the blood). Even worse, trans fat lowers your levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol.

Your diet, weight, and level of physical activity affect your cholesterol levels, as do things you can’t control like age, sex, and heredity. Before menopause, women generally have lower total cholesterol than men. But afterward, women’s LDL levels often rise.

In addition, people respond in different ways to the cholesterol in foods. For some, cholesterol in food directly translates to increased cholesterol in the bloodstream. For others, digested cholesterol appears to have little bearing on blood cholesterol.

Even so, the best strategy is to eat the types of foods that will help you keep your cholesterol levels in the healthy range. That means keeping saturated fats and trans fats to a minimum, while consuming more healthy unsaturated fats.

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