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Diet and Lifestyle - A Healthy Heart
There are around 270,000 heart attacks in UK per year. There are 5 steps to a healthy heart that can be integrated into your daily lifestyle. A huge difference can be made to your heart health with a few simple changes.
- Healthy Eating
- Be more active - Taking more exercise helps reduce blood pressure, improves cholesterol and boosts metabolism all of which can reduce coronary heart disease (CHD) by 50% in adults. Physical activity also reduces the risk of stroke, stress and osteoporosis.
- BE Smoke free - From the moment you stop smoking, the risk of heart attack starts to reduce and is halved after a year of not smoking.
- Reduce Alcohol - Binge drinking will increase your risk of CHD.
- Trim excess weight - by eating a balanced diet, drinking in moderation and increasing levels of physical activity you can maintain a healthy body and heart.
What is heart disease?
Coronary Heart Disease occurs when arteries become narrowed by atherosclerosis. This is a build up of fatty material within the walls of the arteries. It occurs when the inner lining of the artery walls 'fur'up with a thick porridge like sludge (atheroma) made up of fatty deposits of cholesterol, cell waste and other substances.
Getting Ready To Make The Changes
Eating well can help improve your general health. If you have CHD eating well can be beneficial.
Eating well can -
- Help maintain healthy weight.
- Help lower blood cholesterol level.
- Help lower blood pressure.
- Help prevent atheroma inside the walls of the arteries.
- Help prevent blood clots from forming.
- Increase the chances of survival if you have a heart attack.
- Lower the risk of a stroke.
The best DIET for a healthy heart is rich in fruit and vegetables (5 per day), NSP, unrefined carbohydrate, low in fat , low in sugar.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
These are rich sources of antioxidants, nutrients that help to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol which is the main cause of atherosclerosis.
The important antioxidants are Vitamins A, C, E. Other antioxidants include a group of nutrients called bioflavinoids found in tea, red wine, apple skins and oranges.
Vitamin B6 and B12 also help to lower homocysteine levels (Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood and is thought to be linked with CHD).
Good fats / Bad fats - Nearly half of all deaths from CHD in UK are linked with raised blood cholesterol. The type of fat you choose is important in helping promote a healthy heart.
'Bad fat' - Fats which raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood should be reduced in the diet. These include saturated fats such as full fat cheese, 'trans fats' (fats that have been solidified by the process of hydrogenation) found in processed foods such as many margarines, biscuits and cakes.
'Good Fats' - Fats which help raise HDL cholesterol should be increased in the diet. These include omega-3 fatty acids (oily fish), omega 6 (olives, nuts, seeds) and many vegetables and grains.
Garlic and onion can also help improve the cholesterol profile. They contain compounds that help lower blood pressure and lower levels of LDL and raise HDL.
Altering cooking methods may also help - eg grill not fry.
Non Starch Polysaccharide - NSP
A high intake of NSP helps lower cholesterol. Gluey 'soluble' fibre is best - eg - lentils, kidney beans, apples, strawberries, cereals and pasta.
Salt
Although we need some salt to maintain sodium balance, a high intake is linked to high blood pressure and is one of the many risk factors of CHD. Limit salt at the table, in cooking and cut down on the number of processed foods consumed.
Overall CHD is affected by the following
| Being | Having |
| Male | High fat diet |
| Older | Little exercise |
| A Somker | Low intake of NSP |
| A heavy drinker | Low antioxidant intake |
| Under stress | Family history of CHD |
| Overweight or obese | |
| Diabetic |
Download the Healthy Eating Quiz - 30KB PDF Document
Food Labels & Processed Foods
Read about Food Safety and Shopping Labels
Food labels
We live an age of pre-packaged and processed foods. The law requires food manufacturers to include certain information on their food labels.
The Food Labelling Regulations 1996
This requires food to be marked or labelled with the following:
- the name of the food
- a list of ingredients
- the amount of an ingredient which is named or associated with the food
- an appropriate durability indication
- any special storage conditions
- the name of business and manufacturer and in certain cases
- the place of origin
- the process used in manufacture
- instructions for use
In order to be able to make healthy food choices you will need to be able to make decisions based on the content of different foods.
Remember that in considering individual foods, you should be thinking in terms of your overall diet. For example, if you are looking at something that you would only eat once a week, remember that it will have less of an impact on your diet as a whole, than a 'staple' food that you would eat more than once a day.
The product is only obliged to carry nutrition information if it makes a claim, such as "low fat". Many foods also show nutritional information. However, this information is often in a form that is difficult to understand.
Guide to food labelling
For ready meals and foods you eat in large amounts, look at the amount per serving. For snacks, and foods you eat in small amounts, look at the 'per 100g' information. Remember -one of the most important nutrients to look for is fat.
The daily guidelines below are a very rough guide to the recommended daily amounts of calories and nutrients for an average man or woman. You can use this information to help you make sense of food labels. For example, if a ready-made meal contains 50g of fat, you know that it has over half the recommended amount of fat for the day. In order to find out what is 'a lot' or 'a little' refer to the guide shown below:
| A lot (per 100 g) | A little (per 100 g) |
|
|
Daily guidelines
Dietary reference values (DRVs) are reference values for nutrient intakes and are usually used as a guide for vitamins and minerals. Amongst the various DRVs, the RNI corresponds to the amount of a given nutrient that is sufficient or more than sufficient for 97.5 % of the population. Remember that we are all different and our daily needs for nutrients are different. The RNI value is actually higher than the amount that would be sufficient for the 'average' person.
Ideally, 10 - 20% of your total daily calories should come from protein, less than 10% from saturated fat, less than 10% from polyunsaturated fat and 60 - 70% from monounsaturated fat and carbohydrates combined. Try to aim for 50 - 55% from carbohydrates.
Below are some general guidelines for fat and total energy intake:
| Nutrient | Men | Women |
| Energy (kcal) | 2,500 | 2,000 |
| Sugars (g) | 70 | 50 |
| Fat (g) | 95 | 70 |
| ….of which saturates (g) | 30 | 20 |
| Fibre | 20 | 16 |
| Sodium | 2.5 | 2.0 |
Labelling Claims & Logos
In general you will find it useful to look for brands that are lower in fat, sugar or salt. However, beware of misleading claims on packaging. Remember that, if a label makes any kind of claim then it should be backed up with some figures. For example, if a label claims "extra fruit" it should be backed up with the minimum amount of fruit contained in the product.
Many supermarkets have introduced their own branded healthy eating ranges. These foods may be lower in fat, sugar or salt, or higher in fibre. However, low in fat may mean high in sugar or carbohydrate so it is important to look carefully before choosing healthy eating products in preference to standard varieties. Remember that the claims made on labels may be a marketing tool.
Comparing different products
Reduced or low fat/sugar versions of products often look like a good idea. It is advisable to compare them with the standard version before you make your choice. Remember that "reduced" or "low" fat/sugar foods are lower in fat or sugar than the standard versions but they can only help you to reduce the fat, sugar and calories in your diet if you eat them in no greater quantities than you would standard varieties.
Ingredients
Ingredients (including additives) are listed in order of weight - this means that the main ingredients are listed first. The list of ingredients will tell you what has been added to a product but it can be misleading so look for further information if you can find it.
Nutritional information
The nutritional information on the food label shows you how much of a particular nutrient a food will provide and allows you to compare the nutrient content of different foods.
Information is generally provided in two formats: per 100g (or 100ml) and per serving.
- Use the "per 100g" column to compare the composition of similar foods - such as tins of soup.
- Use the "per serving" column if you are comparing different foods - for example, comparing a pizza with a tin of soup - as the weight of a serving will be different.
If you are using information per serving on the label, check the serving size - you may prefer to eat a smaller (or larger) serving than the label suggests.
What the nutritional information tells you
Below is an example of the nutritional information that might be provided on a food label.
| Nutritional Information | Amount per 100 g | Amount per serving (25 g) |
| Energy | 1560 kJ / 367 kCal | 390 kJ / 92 kcal |
| Protein | 7.3 g | 1.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 82.7 g | 20.7 g |
| - of which sugars | 8.9 g | 2.2 g |
| Fat | 0.8 g | 0.2 g |
| - of which saturates | 0.3 g | 0.1 g |
| Fibre | 3.6 g | 0.9 g |
| Sodium | 1.1 g | 0.3 g |
What do all the terms mean?
Energy - the amount of energy that the food provides. Look for the "kcal" figure which means calories. To keep to a healthy weight, the amount of energy we eat needs to be balanced with the amount of energy we use in daily life.
Protein - the amount of protein in the food. Protein is needed for growth and repair. Most adults usually eat adequate amounts of protein. The main protein foods include meat, fish, cheese, eggs and pulses. Note that animal sources of protein tend to be high in saturated fat.
Carbohydrate - the total amount of carbohydrate in the food; this includes sugars and starches. You should aim to get most of your energy from starch, but remember that refined carbohydrates in processed foods may cause rapid rises in the blood glucose level.
...of which sugars - the amount of the carbohydrate that is in the form of simple sugars (both natural and added sugars). This includes all types of sugars.
Fat - the total amount of fat in the food; this includes polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fats. It is best to cut down on fat and to choose foods containing polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat rather than saturated fat.
...of which saturates - the amount of fat that is saturated fat; this is the type of fat that you particularly need to limit.
Fibre - the total amount of fibre in the food. Fibre is important for a healthy bowel as well as helping blood glucose control. Fibre found in oats, beans and lentils can help to reduce cholesterol levels too.
Sodium - indicates how much salt is in a food. Sodium or salt is frequently added to manufactured foods.
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