Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of all men and women worldwide, MayoClinic.com states. It includes diseases that cause narrowed and blocked blood vessels leading to heart attack and stroke. In many cases, heart disease is treatable and can be reversed by making changes to your diet.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is based on the eating and cooking practices of the people living along the Mediterranean Sea. And it's a diet that has been proven to reduce your risk of heart disease, MayoClinic.com claims. In addition, it may also prevent certain types of cancers, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. The diet emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes. It also uses olive oil as its primary source of fat. The diet encourages you to eat fish and poultry at least twice a week, with an emphasis on fatty fish like salmon, and decrease your intake of red meat to twice a month. It also limits your salt intake, encouraging the use of herbs and spices to add flavor to food.
Very Low-Fat Diet
The very low fat diet to reverse heart disease, commonly referred to as the Ornish diet, is an almost vegetarian-based diet with less than 10 percent of calories coming from fat. The diet is primarily made up of complex carbohydrates and allows you to eat as many fruits, vegetables, grains and starches as you want. You can also eat egg whites and drink nonfat milk. Low-fat sweets are also allowed on the very low-fat diet. But meats, fats and oils and any food high in fat is off limits. People who follow the very low-fat diet have been able to lower their total blood cholesterol, improve heart health and decrease their body weight, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet
The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet, or TLC, was developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program. The TLC diet reverses heart disease by lowering blood-cholesterol levels. The diet recommends that you limit your intake of saturated fat to less than 7 percent of total calories and your intake of cholesterol to 200 mg a day. The diet emphasizes complex carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, lean sources of protein and the use of more plant-based oils such as olive and vegetable oil. It encourages you to use plant sterols and stanols to help lower your cholesterol. Plant sterols and stanols, which are substances naturally found in plants, are often added to foods like margarine, orange juice and yogurt. High-soluble fiber intake is also recommended to reduce blood-cholesterol levels. Foods high in soluble fiber include oatmeal, pears and Brussels sprouts.
