Clean Eating

Clean Eating

Learn how to live well with Heart Problems

By Raul Ortega

Healthy Eating LifestyleYou don’t have to eat less, you just have to eat right. When you begin to eat healthy, you are simply taking a better step to reduce multiple risk factors that are linked to heart disease. Eating healthy plays a big role in everyone's life by helping us improve our blood pressure, cholesterol levels, lose those extra pounds, and overall maintain a healthy weight. Patients that are diabetic are highly recommended to eat healthy to help manage their blood sugar.

This lesson will guide you through new ways you can improve your diet without having to cut-off all those delicious foods or flavors you desire.

Healthy vs Unhealthy

Healthy vs UnhealthyYou may be thinking chicken breasts, daily salad intakes, lots and lots of carrot sticks & vegetables! It’s okay, you can still eat a variety of foods, you just have to learn to consume more of the healthy ones. Another important thing to keep in mind as we begin to improve our eating lifestyle is our portion sizes. By monitoring closely our portion size will help us manage our weight.

Eat MoreYou should be adding more of these types of foods in

your diet

Fresh fruits & vegetables

Whole grains

-Whole wheat bread

-Brown rice

Foods high in unsaturated fat

-Nuts

-Olive oil

-Fish

Non-meat sources of protein

-Beans

-Soy products

+

Have LessBy cutting these type of

foods, it will help you improve your health

High-fat animal products-fatty cuts of meat

-butter

-whole-fat milk

-dairy products

-cream sauces

Snack foods and fast food

Foods high in sodium

Alcohol

-

Caloric Intake Each one of us gets calories through the foods we consume. A calorie is a unit of energy which helps fuel our daily functions. Lots of calories are burned during our physical activities throughout the day. Unfortunately, if we consume more calories than our body burns, then these extras are stored as fat. A good idea would be to begin tracking your daily calories being consumed to help you maintain a normal body weight.

Obesity Crisis in AmericaAccording to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), more than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese, and about ⅓ of American children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese.

So what’s the problem? The problem is that overweight & obesity happens due to an energy imbalance. Throughout time, when individuals begin to eat and drink more calories than their bodies burn, the energy balance tips toward weight gain, overweight, and obesity. Being overweight & obese over time will lead to increase your risk factors for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems.

Figure 1. Estimated Percentage by Sex

Light green- MenDark green- Women

Reasonable PortionsThink smart, eat smart! Most Americans eat too much! Therefore, it is important to begin monitoring our food portions daily. It is vital that we begin to reduce our portion sizes, and perhaps begin to serve our lunch & dinner on smaller plates. ⅓ of your meal portion should be protein, and ⅔ should be whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Start at home, and when you are at a restaurant you can split your meal portion with someone else. This will help you lose some extra pounds!

What is the right amount to eat?

GRAINS

VEGETABLES

FRUIT

OILS

MILK

MEAT & BEANS

AMOUNT PER DAY:6 ounces; at least 3 ounces need to be whole grains

2 ½

2 cups

6 teaspoons

2 cups

5 ½ ounces

2 to 3 ounces → is about the size of your palm or simply a deck of cards.

1 cup → is about the size of your fist or a tennis ball

½ cup→ is about the size of your cupped hand or golf ball

HOW BIG IS THAT YOU ASK?

Shop Healthy-Eat Healthy!

As we shop in our local grocery store, it’s very important we start

paying closer attention to food labels & simply make healthy

choices as we shop. It’s recommended to never go

grocery shopping when you’re starving, this will prevent you

from selecting unhealthy items. For individuals having heart

problems, it’s vital to read the nutrition facts labels and look

closely at the serving size, total fat, cholesterol, and sodium

amounts.

Shop Healthy! It’s recommended to make shopping list before walking into the grocery store. Once you’ve created your list, stick to it! This will help you avoid any impulse buys. The following grocery sections should be the sections you should be shopping at to make heart-healthy choices:

● MEAT COUNTER → Begin buying fish or chicken, and reduce your read meats. If you would like to replace meats on certain days, begin buying beans, tofu, or nuts. A great tip is to avoid meats that have been smoked or cured; these meats are high in sodium.

● PRODUCE SECTION→ You can reduce fat intake by consuming meals around produce instead. Remember that fresh fruits & vegetables contain almost no sodium.

● DAIRY SECTION→ Begin buying lower-fat dairy products. A great tip would be that if you buy whole milk, you should try getting reduced fat or 2% milk.

● SNACK SECTION→ Shop for low-fat & low sodium! Several snacks contain trans fat.

● FROZEN FOOD SECTION→ Frozen dinners are often high in sodium! You should begin shopping for plain frozen foods without any sauces.

Compare Food Labels

Once you begin comparing food labels, you will find great options

for heart health.

● Fat free→ Less than 0.5 g● No trans fat → Less than 0.5g fat

per serving● Low in saturated fat → 1 g or less

saturated fat● Low fat → 3g or less per serving● Reduced fat→ 25% or less than

standard version● Sodium free, Salt free→ Less than

5mg● Light in sodium→ 50% less sodium● Unsalted, no salt added→ No salt

added during processing

BreakfastRaisin toast with jam

Turkey bacon

Soft margarine in a tub

Cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese

Poached or soft boiled eggs, scrambled egg whites, or egg substitute

Fat-free or 1-2% milk

Lunch Dinner● Soft margarine,

canola, olive, or peanut oil

● Ground turkey or 96-99% lean ground beef

● Broiled chicken or fish● Olive oil, herbs and

lemon● Frozen yogurt or light

ice cream

What Should I Eat Instead?

● Raw vegetables● Green salad ● Tuna with low-fat mayo

on toast● Turkey sandwich with

spicy mustard and peppers

● Low-fat cocoa or 1% chocolate milk

How To Cook At Home?Healthy eating starts at home! You can begin by cutting down the fat and salt you add to your foods. You don’t have to cut or sacrifice your favorite flavors. You can simply begin cooking without using fat and salt. A great tip is to purchase a recipe book that includes delicious recipes with low-fat and low-sodium ingredients. Follow these cooking tips at home:

● Replace whole milk with low fat milk● Replace half of the fat with

applesauce ● Replace common spreads like

margarine and mayo with plant stanol and sterol esters.

● Remove skin from your chicken & turkey

● Steam or microwave vegetables without adding fat or salt

● Try adding herb blends, lemon juice pepper, or flavored vinegar on vegetables

● Add chopped onions, garlic, and peppers to your favorite beans and rice

● Spoon natural cooking juices over your meats instead of gravy or cream sauce.

New Healthy Eating Goals to Follow:

GOAL: Cut sodium intake

Start by leaving salt out of your food

Cut back on high sodium foods

Begin tracking your progress

Reward yourself when you reach below 2,300 mg per day!

Consume one vegetable each day with your lunch

Try new vegetables every week

Consume 2 ½ vegetables per day

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), regular exercise leads to heart-healthy habits and reduce your conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels which can all cause a heart attack and stroke.

It is recommended to exercise 30-45 minutes per day, 3 times out of the week. You can divide your time throughout the day in the morning, mid-day, and evening to make your exercise routine easier for you.

Exercising regularly is the perfect strategy to help you prevent future heart diseases. AHA states that 40% of people over the age of 55 do not participate in any type of exercise. It is recommended that as we begin to age, we need more exercise, not less.

Regular exercise will also help you with prevention of bone loss, it will increase muscle strength, and better your coordination balance.

Heart Disease & Exercise

References1. https://www.goredforwomen.org/home/about-heart-disease-in-women/research/v

2. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx

3. Miller, Nancy Miller, RN, BSN. Krames Patient Education: A Guide For Cardiac Rehabilitation.. Living Well With Heart Disease. PP 1-64.