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We’ve all heard the recommended 5-a-day nutrition guidelines. We know that a balanced
diet should be full of vitamins and nutrients, but how many of us take this advice
to heart? After all, that’s where you’ll feel the benefits most…
By looking after your heart, you are setting a solid foundation for total body wellness.
And since being healthy is as much about what you put into your body as what you
demand from it in exercise, we’ve asked Jane Freeman, a registered dietician and
nutritionist, to share her top ten tips for keeping your heart ticking over nicely!
1. Shape up for your heart
The next time you hear about apples and pears, don’t be surprised if it’s in your
doctor’s surgery - not the supermarket. That’s because, according to medical experts,
those with body shapes characterised as ‘apples’ (excess fat around the waist and
stomach)
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have an increased risk of heart attack compared to ‘pear- shaped’ people (those with
excess fat around the hips and buttocks).
Although body shape may indicate greater susceptibility to disease, it’s important to remember that carrying any extra weight puts extra pressure on the heart. This makes the heart work harder to pump blood around the body, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Use our Health Check to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
How do you measure up? Grab a tape measure and wrap it around your mid-section, positioning it directly over your belly button.
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Waist circumference in cm
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Heart health risk |
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Males |
Females |
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≥94
≥102 |
≥80
≥88 |
Increased
Substantially increased
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2. Fight fat with fat
Though it must be moderated - fat plays an important part in your diet. It helps
the body absorb some vitamins, is a good source of energy and provides a source
of essential fatty acids, which the body can't make itself. Having too much of it
however, increases the risk of being overweight – along with all of the health complications
that come with it.
To keep your heart healthy, you need to know your good fats (namely mono or polyunsaturated)
from your bad fats (namely saturated and trans fats). Many heart problems result
from arteries furring up with fatty plaque build-ups, but switching to unsaturated
fat can reduce this build-up and lower your cholesterol (both total and the bad
LDL cholesterol).
To distinguish the difference, it’s important that you know what you’re eating.
Always read product labels first before tucking in blindly to avoid foods that are
high in saturated fats. (High is more than 5g saturates per 100g. Low is 1.5g saturates
or less per 100g.)
Saturated fats
are found in:
- Animal fats such as full fat milk,
cream, butter, hard cheese, meat fats, lard and dripping
- Meat pies, sausages, meat with visible
white fat
- Deep-fried fast foods such as fried
chicken, fries, chicken nuggets, and salty snack foods like crisps and corn chips
- Palm oil, which is used in many commercial
snack foods, pastries and biscuits
- Coconut milk and coconut cream, found
in Asian cuisine and cream-centred chocolates that often use coconut oil or milk.
Monounsaturated fats are found in:
- Olive oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil, sunola oil (a derivative of sunflower oil),
avocados, margarines from olive oil, and nuts; particularly macadamias, pecans,
almonds, peanuts and cashews.
*Aim for around 25-35g per day for an average, moderately active person.
Polyunsaturated fats are found in:
- Sunflower, safflower, soybean, sesame and grape seed.
- Polyunsaturated margarines, wheat germ, rice bran, oats.
- Nuts, particularly Brazil nuts, walnuts, pine nuts and sesame seeds.
*Aim for around 20-30g per day for an average, moderately active person.
3. Make friends with plant sterolsPlant sterols are a group of natural compounds,
(with a similar structure to cholesterol) which research has shown to effectively
reduce blood cholesterol. Their unique ability to inhibit the absorption of cholesterol
from the digestive tract into the body means by adding 2g to 3g of plant sterols
per day to your diet can reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) by 10% to 15%, while having
no effect on good HDL cholesterol. Fortified products offer a heftier dose of plants
sterols, but some foods contain these naturally - along with many other valuable
nutritional properties. Good natural choices include corn oil, sunflower oil, beans,
corn, peanut butter, olive oil, almonds, orange, apple, and avocado.
4. Have some fin extraIf you don’t already love fish, you need to learn to. Omega
3 fatty acids - most commonly found in oily fish - are a must for a healthy heart.
They help steady the heart’s rhythm and reduce irregular heartbeats. They keep blood
flowing freely, especially through small vessels. They lower triglycerides and blood
pressure. They slow the build-up of fatty material on the inner walls of blood vessels.
They make arteries more elastic and they help prevent platelets clumping together,
which can reduce the chances of blood clots. The best sources of omega 3 fatty acids
are all fish and seafood, but particularly oily fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines,
mackerel and herring (both fresh and canned). Aim for at least two portions of oily
fish a week, but to achieve a clinical benefit, it may be helpful to supplement
with a course of fish oil capsules.
Jane Freeman is a member of Dietitians Unlimited, which is a part of the
British Dietetic Association (BDA). To find a registered dietitian in your area,
visit the Dietitians Unlimited website at
www.dietitiansunlimited.co.uk.
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