Heart and diet

Step 1: Understanding the relationship between heart disease and food

Heart disease is the result of clogging of the coronary arteries due to the build-up of fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Blockage of these arteries leads to a heart attack.

You cannot modify some of the risk factors associated with heart disease (your gender, your age and your genes) but some you can. Here is a list of the most important ones you can change, and the changes will have a positive effect on your heart health:

• Cigarette smoking
• Overeating: Excessive energy intake – eating more than you use - causes obesity. In South Africa around 40% of the population are obese – one of the highest rates in the world. More than 52% of all South African women are more than 9 kg overweight. Interestingly, it is mainly abdominal obesity rather than the fat distributed around hips and legs that carries the most risk. This means that not only is the body mass index (BMI) important, but the waist circumference as well. Waist circumference is defined as the smallest circumference between the rib cage and belly button. This should be less than 102 cm in men and less than 88 cm in women.
  Obesity tends to:
  • lead to raised lipid levels
  • cause insulin resistance
  • cause type 2 diabetes
• Eating the wrong kind of foods (too fatty) or preparing it with too much oil: Saturated fats and trans-unsaturated fats are far more important factors causing raised blood cholesterol levels
• Lack of physical activity
• Stress
• Alcohol abuse

Step 2: Adopting new healthy habits

Lower your risk for heart disease:

• 1. Stop smoking or never start smoking
• 2. Lose weight if you are overweight
• 3. Lower your fat intake.
• 4. Exercise 30 – 45 minutes three times per week. Brisk walking, swimming, cycling, rowing or jogging can help a lot.
• 5. Make time to relax and de-stress.
• 6. Limit your alcohol intake to two drinks per day.
• 7. Make sure your blood pressure is well controlled at levels not higher than 140/90 mm Hg.
• 8. If you have diabetes, make sure it is well controlled.

Step 3. The do’s and don’ts of eating for a healthy heart

Scientists suggest a step-wise approach to lower fat intake: First to lower your fat intake to 30% of your total energy intake, then to 25% and even (with the help of a dietitian) to 20% if necessary.

The do’s

Try to buy food with a fat content lower than 3 g/100 g.

1. Fats, oils and nuts:

• Limit your total fat intake to 40 – 70 g (three to four tablespoons) per day
• Rather use the following fats, oils or nuts: Sunflower, canola, olive and soya oils
• Soft margarines, non-stick vegetable sprays
• Almonds, pecan, hazelnuts and peanuts in moderation

2. Meat, fish and poultry:
Remember that meat, fish and poultry contain protein but also a lot of visible and hidden fats.

Keep the following in mind:

• Lean cuts only
• Portion sizes to 90 to 120g a day – about the size of your palm
• Eat chicken without the skin
• Eat fish at least twice a week
• Shellfish is fine except prawns, shrimps and caviar; Tinned fish should be in water or brine

3. Lentils and dry beans:

• All types of lentils, peas and beans
• Baked beans and other tinned beans are fine

4. Eggs:

• Use a maximum of three egg yolks a week
• Cut down on other foods containing cholesterol if you do eat egg yolk

5. Milk and milk products:

• Low-fat and skim milk
• Low-fat and fat-free yoghurt
• Low-fat and fat-free cottage cheese
• Low-fat buttermilk

6. Breads and cereals:

• Brown bread and wholewheat bread
• Oats, oat bran and maize meal
• High-fibre (low fat) breakfast cereals
• Low-fat wholewheat crackers
• Rice and pasta

7. Fruit and vegetables:

• Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day
• Choose fresh fruits instead of fruit juices
• Use avocado and olives in moderation

8. Beverages:

• Tea and coffee without sugar
• Diet cold drinks, sugar-free squash
• Use sweetened cold drinks in moderation
• Use fruit juice in moderation
• If you drink alcohol, no more than two drinks a day (1 drink = 340ml beer or 120ml wine or 25ml spirits). Avoid if you have high blood pressure or are overweight

9. Desserts:

• Choose fresh fruit, jelly, skim-milk custard
• fat-free or low-fat yoghurt, fruit ices, fruit yoghurt

The don’ts

Avoid the following foods

1. Fats and oils:

• Butter
• Hard brick margarine, brick cooking fat, lard
• All fried food
• Coconut and biscuits containing coconut
• Mayonnaise

2. Meat, fish and poultry:

• Fatty beef, pork and mutton
• Processed meats such as salami and polony
• Organ meats such as offal, liver and kidneys
• Tinned meat and pies
• Take-aways such as fried chicken and hamburgers
• Deep fried foods

3. Milk and milk products:

• Full cream milk
• Condensed milk
• Cream, artificial cream, coffee and tea creamers
• Full-fat ice cream and yoghurt
• Full fat cheeses

Breads and cereals:

• White bread and rolls
• Refined breakfast cereals
• Salted, high-fat savoury snacks
• Biscuits, cakes, puddings, chocolates, fudge etc
• Crisps, corn crisps, other savoury snacks

Preparing your food:

The way you prepare meat can also decrease the fat content considerably - grilling and frying in a non-stick pan with little or no oil (use Spray and Cook to coat the pan) will save plenty of fat. You can also boil or stew meat dishes (potjie) the day before serving, let the stew cool completely and remove the layer of fat that collects on top of the liquid.

When you roast meat, use very little oil to coat the bottom of the container, cook the meat at a lower temperature and when the roast is done, drain off all the fat that has collected in the bottom of the pan and get rid of it. Keep a large bottle handy in the kitchen to collect this fat that oozes out of roasts and throw it away on a regular basis. This not only prevents the drains from getting clogged up but spares the arteries of your family from a similar fate!

Step 4: Your basic daily guide to eating correctly for a healthy heart

(The Heart and Stroke Foundation SA and Health24)