The coronary arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygenated blood from your lungs. Coronary heart disease is a chronic condition characterized by a buildup of plaque inside the coronary arteries. The plaque accumulation causes the arteries to become hard and thick, hindering blood flow to the heart. If you have coronary heart disease, the proper diet can delay the progression of the disease and improve your quality of life.
Low Fat
One of the most vital components of a diet for coronary heart disease is its amount of saturated fat and trans fat. These types of fat have a significant effect on the amount of cholesterol in your blood and increase the rate at which plaque forms in the arteries. If you have coronary heart disease, limit your saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of total calories. Remove solid forms of fat, such as butter and margarine, from your diet, trim excess fat from meats and replace full-fat dairy products with low-fat or fat-free versions.
Limit your trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of calories. Ideally, you should remove trans fat from your diet completely. The most significant sources of trans fat in a diet are processed foods, commercially baked crackers and cookies and some margarines. Read labels and avoid any foods with partially hydrogenated oil as an ingredient.
Low Cholesterol
Another important aspect of a coronary heart disease diet is cholesterol. Like fat, cholesterol increases the rate of plaque accumulation in the coronary arteries. When following a coronary heart disease diet, reduce cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg daily. Remove concentrated sources of cholesterol such as egg yolks, lobster, shrimp, red meat and organ meats. Check labels of processed foods and make sure that the cholesterol content is not too high.
Low Sodium
Too much sodium causes your body to retain water. This leads to increased blood volume, which increases your blood pressure. When you have coronary heart disease, high blood pressure increases the strain on your heart and can increase the rate of disease progression. Limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day. One of the most important things you can do is avoid frozen foods, canned foods and processed foods, which are the most significant sources of sodium in a diet. Add sodium-free spices and fresh herbs to dishes instead of salt while cooking and don't add salt to dishes before eating.
What to Eat
A coronary heart disease diet is not just about what you can't eat, but also what you can. Your diet should be rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Eat fish, legumes and beans as your protein sources, instead of meat. Incorporate nuts, such as walnuts and almonds, which contain monounsaturated fat that has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. Include low-fat dairy products, like milk and yogurt.
