Eating a heart-healthy diet does not mean you have to feel hungry all the time. Eating is important to the health of your heart, which needs nutrients to keep functioning properly. However, it is important to avoid overeating. Being overweight can increase your blood pressure and blood cholesterol, but eating heart-healthy, filling foods can help you reduce your weight.
The Basics
Heart-healthy foods contain several different nutrients that ward off diseases such as heart disease and stroke, but the key is not only to eat healthy foods, but also to eliminate or limit the unhealthy foods in your diet. Lowering your overall intake of sugar and fat and decreasing your portion sizes in general can help you combat heart problems.
Significance of Proteins
Nuts, tofu, fatty fish and beans will all play a significant role in keeping your heart healthy. The protein in these foods will fill you up; protein takes longer to digest than many other foods, which will leave you feeling full longer. These proteins are considered heart-healthy proteins because they contain limited amounts of cholesterol and are low in unhealthy saturated fats and calories.
Importance of Fiber
Fiber-rich foods are important to lower your levels of bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, reports Help guide.org. Try to get between 25 and 35 g of fiber each day. Fiber can be found in high amounts in fruits, vegetables, foods made with whole grains, as well as beans. Eating meals and snacks that are rich in fiber can help keep you full. Fiber is bulky, so you will feel full on smaller portion sizes. This full feeling will last longer because, similar to protein, fiber is slow to digest.
Consider Your Fats
Fat is filling, but it is important to consider where you get your fat. Including trans fats in your diet can increase your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels and lower your HDL, or "good" cholesterol levels, so trans fats should be avoided. Limiting your intake of saturated fat is also important; too much saturated fat can also raise your bad cholesterol levels.
Eating monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats as a replacement for unhealthy fats can help lower your cholesterol levels. According to the American Heart Association, the amount of fat you consume each day should be no more than 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories.
Foods high in heart-healthy fats include nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocados, olive oil and canola oil.
Tips
Incorporate heart healthy, filling foods you may not normally eat into your regular diet. Buy lentil soups or make your own. Lentils are packed with plant-based protein and fiber, and the high water content of the soup will also help you feel full. Consume baked sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are rich in heart-healthy nutrients such as beta-carotene, or vitamin A, and fiber, while white potatoes offer fewer health benefits. Add flaxseed to your baked goods and mix ground flaxseed into your cereals, yogurt and oatmeal. Flaxseed offers a significant amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Substitute soy milk for real milk. Soy milk contains healthy fats, high amounts of cholesterol-lowering isoflavones and filling protein.
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