Healthy Eating for a Happy Heart
Stress happens. You can’t always prevent or avoid it, but you can change how you react to it. Moving your body, practicing journaling or reflection and choosing heart-healthy foods instead of “comfort foods” can help you find balance.
When stress hits hard, many of us eat more. Unfortunately, less-than-healthy food and treats are often what we reach for first. But an unhealthy response to stress can be hard on your body, especially your heart. That’s why it’s smart to find healthy outlets to reduce stress and focus on eating foods that nourish and fuel your body instead of overindulging. Practicing mindfulness — especially when its challenging — can make your heart happier, and maybe trim your waistline, too.
Don’t know where to start? For years, the DASH eating plan has ranked among the best diets for healthy living and heart health. It focuses on eating nutrient-dense foods, meals that are lower in sodium and saturated fat, and adopting a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and legumes.
Some of the recipes, like those developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), support the plan and feature healthy versions of comfort foods, such as oven-baked french fries and chicken chili stew. The recipes are easy to make, family-friendly and diverse. You can find these recipes, along with tips about safe cooking, what to stock in your kitchen, and food shopping at healthyeating.nhlbi.nih.gov.
Following a heart-healthy diet like DASH can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and increasing your physical activity while watching your calories can help you lose weight.
DASH requires no special foods, and it helps you set daily and weekly nutritional goals using these simple guides:
- Eat vegetables, fruits and whole grains
- Include fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts and vegetable oils
- Limit foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy foods and tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel and palm oils
- Limit sugar sweetened drinks and desserts
To make it easier to follow DASH for life, these tips can help:
- Change gradually. Add one more serving of vegetables a day. Read nutrition labels to choose the food lowest in saturated fat, sodium or salt and added sugar.
- Vary foods high in proteins. Try a mix of lean cuts of meat. Remove the skin from chicken. Eat fish once or twice a week. Eat two or more meals without meat each week.
- Select healthy, tasty snacks. Have a piece of fruit, a few unsalted snacks such as rice cakes, fat-free or low-fat yogurt or raw vegetables with a low-fat dip.
- Find substitutes. Try whole-wheat bread or brown rice instead of white bread or white rice. Try beans, seeds such as flax or sunflower seeds, and nuts.
Combining healthy eating habits with other self-care activities can help you reduce stress and take care of your heart. Top of the list: Move more throughout the day, get 7 to 9 hours of sleep, and try relaxation exercises such as meditation or yoga. If you smoke, try quitting, and develop a strong social support system to help keep you motivated.
Learn more about heart health and managing cardiovascular disease with FHP Primary Care and FHP Cardiology.
Source: NIH, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)