Helping Loved Ones With Heart Disease Eat Right
A heart-healthy diet is one of the most important steps for a person with heart disease; combined with a healthy lifestyle, it can slow or even reverse the narrowing of arteries and prevent further complications.
Caregivers can help a loved one who has heart disease by adopting a diet that reduces LDL (''bad'') cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, and reduces body weight. The most powerful nutrition strategy helps people with heart disease focus on what they can eat, and in fact, research has shown that adding heart-saving foods is just as important as cutting back on others. As a caregiver, here are some strategies to help you plan meals for someone with heart disease:
1. Serve more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. These foods may be one of the most powerful strategies in fighting heart disease.
2. Choose fat calories wisely by:
- Limiting total fat grams.
- Serving a minimum of saturated fats and trans-fatty fats (for example, fats found in butter, salad dressing, sweets and desserts).
- When using added fats for cooking or baking, choose fats that are high in monounsaturated fat (for example, fats found in olive and peanut oil) or polyunsaturated fat (such as fats found in soybean, corn, and sunflower oil).
3. Serve a variety -- and just the right amount -- of protein-rich foods. Commonly eaten protein sources -- meat and dairy products -- are culprits in heart disease. Reduce this nutritional risk factor by balancing lean meat, fish, and vegetable sources of protein.
4. Limit cholesterol consumption. Dietary cholesterol can raise blood cholesterol levels, especially in high-risk people. Limiting dietary cholesterol has an added bonus: You'll also cut out saturated fat, as cholesterol and saturated fat are usually found in the same foods. Give your loved one energy by serving complex carbohydrates (such as whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, whole-grain breads) and limit simple carbohydrates (such as regular soft drinks, sugar, sweets).
5. Feed your loved one regularly. Skipping meals often leads to overeating. By serving five to six mini-meals , you can help someone with heart disease control blood sugar levels, burn fat calories more efficiently, and regulate cholesterol levels.
Other Heart Disease and Diet Tips
- De-emphasize salt. This will help your loved one control his or her blood pressure.
- Encourage exercise. The human body was meant to be active. Exercise strengthens the heart muscle, improves blood flow, reduces high blood pressure, raises HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol), and helps control blood sugar levels and body weight.
- Encourage hydration. Water is vital to life. Staying hydrated makes you feel energetic and eat less. Encourage your loved one to drink 32 to 64 ounces (about one to two liters) of water daily (unless he or she is fluid restricted).
An excellent motto to follow is: dietary enhancement, not deprivation. When people enjoy what they eat, they feel more positive about life, which helps them feel better.
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