Health-care professionals often advise patients struggling with progressing heart disease to follow a strict diet to promote heart health. One of the key aspects of this diet is that it strictly limits fat intake, especially saturated or trans fats, which contribute to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Eating a diet designed to control your blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and cholesterol levels can improve your heart health, and, in many cases, will also slow the progression of heart disease.
Healthy Fats
If you have been diagnosed with progressing heart disease, it is essential to control your fat intake. Use only healthy fats or oils, such as olive oil or sunflower oil, for cooking. Avoid solids fats such as butter or margarine, which cause raise your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, levels. Instead, bake or saute foods in herbs and lemon juice for flavoring and choose low-fat toppings and condiments, such as hot sauces or salsa, in place of mayonnaise.
High-Fiber Foods
You can also lower your LDL by eating a diet high in fiber. Healthy food choices include whole-grain cereals and bread and brown rice. You can also choose fibrous vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, greens and celery. A fresh salad with low-fat dressing is a great choice for a healthy, high-fiber meal. Whole wheat breakfast cereals are also an excellent source of fiber and provide a healthy start to your day.
Limit Processed Foods
Learning to read food labels and interpret ingredients is also key to your heart-healthy diet. Selecting fresh fruits and vegetables can help you avoid the excess fats and sodium often found in processed or prepared foods. Lean cuts of fresh meat or fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids are preferable to processed meat selections, which are often high in fat and contain added salt. Omega-3 fatty acids improve heart health by lowering blood pressure, while saturated fats and salt have the opposite effect. If you do choose to purchased processed or prepared foods, be sure to check the labels, and try to select items that have reduced fat and sodium content.
Cooking Tips
Preparing heart-healthy recipes may require some modifications to your normal techniques. Cooking methods that limit the use of butter or margarine are best. You can broil, steam and bake foods, and many heart-healthy recipes will offer suggestions of spices or herbs to replace salt, butter or creamy sauces.
