Healthy food tips
		Consider the Mediterranean diet
		Cut back on the salt
		The alcohol connection

Eating a variety of low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-sodium foods may not only help you shed unwanted pounds, but may also help improve your heart's health.

Losing weight is rarely easy; however, it can be done successfully. Most people who manage to keep their weight under control avoid fad diets or quick weight-loss schemes in favor of a sensible plan that involves eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nonfat or very low-fat dairy products, and small amounts of protein. They also avoid foods with a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol, which can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood and, in turn, may worsen or raise the risk of existing heart disease.

Healthy food tips

Some guidelines from the American Heart Association can help you to get started on the road to healthier eating¹:

• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, five servings or more per day. A sample serving size is: one medium piece of fruit, ½ to 1 cup of cooked or raw fruit or vegetables, or ½ a cup of fruit or vegetable juice.
  
  
• Eat a variety of grain products, including whole grains, six servings or more per day. A sample serving size is: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of flaked cereal, or ½ a cup of cooked cereal.
  
  
• Choose fat-free or low-fat (less than 2%) milk.
  
  
• Eat protein in the form of fish, skinless poultry, lean meats, and legumes (beans). Consider eating fish, particularly fatty fish such as salmon, at least twice a week; research shows that eating fish rich in fatty acids can help prevent heart disease.
  
  
• Cook with canola or olive oils, or use nonfat vegetable oil cooking sprays.
  
  
• Limit foods high in saturated fats or cholesterol, such as full-fat milk products, fatty meats, and egg yolks.
  
  
• Cut down on salt by choosing foods low in sodium. Limit the amount of salt you add to food during cooking and while eating.
  
  
• Go sparingly on foods that have many calories but little nutritional benefit, such as sodas, candy, and fast food.
  
  

Consider the Mediterranean diet

Recently, scientists were excited to find that people who followed a "Mediterranean" diet dramatically reduced their chances of a repeat heart attack, compared with others who ate a typical "Western" diet.

In the Lyon Diet Heart Study² researchers in France monitored more than 600 survivors of first heart attacks. Half the group followed the "Western" diet, similar to that consumed in the United States.

The other half, the experimental group, had a typical "Mediterranean" diet, which included eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, bread, cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts, and seeds; low to moderate amounts of dairy products, poultry, and fish; little red meat; and eggs only zero to four times a week. The diet also included using olive and similar oils, and drinking moderate amounts of wine. People on the Mediterranean diet consumed high amounts of alpha-linoleic acid, found in canola and flaxseed oils and in nuts and seeds.

After four years, the Mediterranean group had an impressive 50% to 70% lower risk of recurring heart problems, such as another heart attack, heart failure, or unstable angina.

Scientists must do more work to figure out exactly why the people on the Mediterranean diet fared so much better. For example, how big a role does alpha-linoleic acid actually play in protecting the heart?

Besides being as "Mediterranean" as you can, try eating more soy products. Numerous studies link soy protein to lower blood levels of LDL, the "bad" form of cholesterol that can contribute to clogged arteries.

If you have angina, eat small, light meals throughout the day, and avoid rich foods that leave you feeling too full. Heavy meals make the heart work harder and may prompt an angina attack.

Cut back on the salt

The Mediterranean diet may be heart-healthy, but if you have high blood pressure, one risk factor for heart disease, you may also want to talk to your doctor about the DASH diet, or "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension."³ This eating plan, which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends, has been proven to reduce blood pressure significantly. According to the NIH, the decreases are often comparable to those achieved with drugs to lower blood pressure.

The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products--food choices that make the diet low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat. The diet also includes whole grain products, fish, poultry, and nuts.

By itself, this diet helps reduce hypertension, but it can become even more effective when combined with eating less salt. In many people, too much salt and sodium in the diet can cause blood pressure to go up. Yet, cutting back often causes blood pressure to drop. For people who have not yet developed high blood pressure, adopting the DASH diet and reducing sodium may help prevent the problem.

Many Americans consume 3,300 milligrams or more of sodium per day. (One teaspoon of table salt alone contains 2,400 mg.) While many people add salt during cooking or while eating, much of dietary sodium comes from processed foods, such as luncheon meats, canned soups, and foods packed in brine (pickles, olives, and sauerkraut).

Federal researchers who designed the DASH diet found that people who restricted their sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day (equal to about two-thirds a teaspoon of salt) had the biggest reductions in blood pressure. The NIH suggests that people may want to start at 2,400 mg per day and work their way down to 1,500 mg.

Here are some tips for cutting back on sodium:

• Read food labels for sodium content, both for milligrams and the Percent Daily Value. As a rule of thumb, try to select foods that provide less than 5% of the Daily Value of sodium.
  
  
• Look for reduced sodium or no-salt-added products.
  
  
• Limit canned, smoked, or processed meats; frozen dinners; canned soups or broths; salad dressings, and other foods with high sodium content.
  
  
• Rinse canned foods to remove some of the sodium.
  
  
• Gradually cut back on cooking with salt by flavoring foods with herbs, spices, lemon or lime juice, vinegar, or salt-free seasoning blends.
  
  
• Don't leave the salt shaker out during meals.
  
  
• Ask restaurants to prepare your meal without salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG) added. Limit the use of condiments such as mustard, catsup, pickles, and salted sauces.
  
  

The alcohol connection

Some research suggests that light to moderate alcohol drinking may slow the stiffening of arteries that comes with age.⁴ Not all experts are ready to endorse alcohol consumption as a means to improve heart health, though. Excessive alcohol can have major drawbacks, including the risk of addiction and liver damage. Talk to your doctor first about how alcohol may affect you. Also, you should never drink and drive.

If you do decide to drink, drink in moderation. The American Heart Association⁵ recommends no more than one alcoholic drink per day for women, no more than two per day for men. In fact, many studies show that beyond two drinks a day, the negative health effects of drinking begin to outweigh the positive ones.

	Coronary artery disease is a buildup of fatty deposits called plaques on the walls of the main arteries leading to the heart. True or False? Click here.

Sources

1. American Heart Association pamphlet, "An Eating Plan For Healthy Americans," 2001. Also, see American Heart Association, "AHA Dietary Guidelines Revision 2000: A Scientific Statement," 2000. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4561

2. Kris-Etherton P., Eckel, R.H., et al. "Lyon Diet Heart Study: Benefits of a Mediterranean-Style, National Cholesterol Education Program/American Heart Association Step I Dietary Pattern on Cardiovascular Disease." Circulation, 2001, 103:1823-1825.
PubMed

3. "Facts About the DASH Eating Plan," NIH Publication No. 03-4082, Revised May 2003.
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/

4. Hougaku, H. and Fleg, J.L., et al. "Light to moderate alcohol intake alters age-associated arterial stiffness." American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, 2001. Abstract #115543.

5. American Heart Association, Alcohol, Wine, and Cardiovascular Disease, 2002. http://216.185.112.5/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4422