Eat your heart out

I Love My Heart! I Love my Health! That's what people always say when someone questions them about their health and well being but science says that you have done nothing in your action towards loving your heart if you haven't taken a close look at your diet. If you already have risk factors such as hypertension, cholesterol, smoking, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and high stress, start on your diet right away! If you have no obvious risk-factors(good for you!), this 5 easy steps will let you have a healthy heart throughout your lifetime.

1. Up your anti-oxidants

• Anti-oxidants such as vitamins C, E, beta carotene and bioflavonoids occur naturally in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and seeds. They protect the heart from free radical damage.

• Eat gooseberries or amlas every day. Rich in Vitamin C, they mop up free radicals from the body. Steam your veggies for retaining Vitamin C. • Add a glass of freshly-squeezed citrus fruit juice combined with carrots, 3-4 times a week for Vitamin C and beta carotene.

• Snack on 4 almonds, 2 walnuts and 1-2 Tbsp of sunflower seeds each day to get a Vitamin E boost. Add a teaspoon of wheat germ to your breakfast cereal for more Vitamin E.



2. Feast on good fats

MUFA or monounsaturated fatty acids are good fats. Get them in olive, soya, and mustard oil; nuts (walnuts and pistachios) and seeds (sunflower, flax seeds), olives and dark chocolate. They have been proven to reduce 'bad' LDL cholesterol and increase 'good' HDL cholesterol.Good polyunsaturated fatty acids like Omega 3 and Omega 6 are also heart protective and found in oily fish (sardines, salmon, tuna) and flax seeds. Add them to your diet.

3.Fill up with fibre

Fibre is important for lowering bad cholesterol, a major risk factor in heart diseases. Fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, beans and legumes are good sources of both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre. Oats are great for reducing cholesterol levels, so start your day with a steaming bowl of porridge. Switch to wholewheat bread and pastas and go for brown rice instead of refined.

4.Add more vitamin D
Recent research published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences (2009), points out the importance of Vitamin D for keeping your heart healthy. According to one article, low Vitamin D levels could increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease. There is still little information on whether taking Vitamin D supplements will reduce these risks. But because you love your heart and to be on the safe side, ensure that you expose your body to 20 minutes of sunlight every day for Vitamin D synthesis.

5.Eat this way

• Loving your heart is not simple so go easy on saturated fats and cut trans fat. Swap red meat with fish such as salmon, sardine, mackerel, sea bass. Pick white meat if you don't like fish.

• Reduce your dairy intake and go for soya instead. ? Add more coloured vegetables to your diet. Go for salads and steamed veggies.? Cut back on your salt intake. Avoid table salt and stay away from packaged foods, pickles and processed foods.

• For snacks, swap chips, cookies and chocolates with fruits, nuts and seeds.

• Swap refined foods with wholegrain foods such as brown rice, brown bread and wholewheat pastas.

• Try grilling, baking, stir-frying and steaming foods, instead of frying them.

• If you drink alcohol, exercise moderation. You can opt for red wine as it is said to contain heart-friendly polyphenols.

• Use a mix of healthy oils-olive oil, canola, rice bran, mustard and soya oil.



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