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Print7 Essential Priorities to Reducing Risk of Heart Disease
I often find myself making a general, but true statement to my clients and that is, “Almost all of us have a risk of heart disease as it is the number one killer of both men and women in our country,” and there are many risk factors to consider. We may not be able to change our genetics, but we certainly have control over other modifiable risk factors that are affected by our food choices.
I’m sharing a priority list of changes you’ll want to consider that can affect your risk of heart disease. You can take these one a time and add to them each week or each month to have slow, but steady, and long lasting behavior change. Make your own priority list based on the things that you need to improve, and praise yourself on a job well done for the ones you don’t have to worry about.
Before we even get to the food list, the top priority will be to maintain or achieve a healthy weight. A healthy weight can help prevent diabetes as well as keep other risk factors at bay, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. To help with weight control, manage stress and keep the body circulating blood properly, daily exercise is key for a healthy and heart disease free life.
We tend to know it’s important to eat right and exercise, but you may not know how to start or what specifically to eat, which leads me to the priority list:
- Reduce sodium intake as much as possible.
This means limiting eating out (ideally) to just once or twice a week due to the almost guaranteed increased amount of sodium, but also fat & calories. You can find a day’s worth of sodium content (i.e. 1500 milligrams of sodium) in just 1 meal.
You can ask the restaurant to not add any salt while cooking. Many are hesitant to ask for special changes, but it’s your health and if you tell them you have strict sodium restrictions, they will likely understand and accommodate.
This also means not adding salt while cooking (or at the dinner table) when you’re at home. Initially, you’ll need to allow your taste buds to adjust to the changes in flavor. Fresh or dried herbs, spices and salt-free seasoning blends (like Paul Prudhomme No Salt No Sugar blends) are great tools. Don’t be fooled by the slight sodium differences in sea salt, kosher vs. iodized salt. It’s all about 2000 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon regardless.
- Limit Alcohol.
The recommendation for alcohol consumption to promote good heart health is two drinks per day for men and one drink for women. Yes, sorry women, we get less. A drink is classified as a 12 ounce beer, 5 ounce glass of red or white wine, or 1-1.5 ounces liquor.
Once you go over this recommendation though, it starts to increase your risk of heart disease. And, no, you cannot save up your “daily” number and have it all at one time.
An occasional drink can help prevent heart disease, but if you’re the type that can get carried away and lose track of your intake or if one tends to lead to more, then it may be best for you to avoid alcohol.
- Quit smoking and using tobacco.
This one may need to be moved to number one if you are a smoker or tobacco user for numerous reasons. For one, it hardens your arteries, makes them less pliable and more prone to plaque build-up (atherosclerosis and increases cholesterol and risk of blockages). It also decreases your tolerance for exercise and lowers your good, heart protective HDL cholesterol. Quitting can dramatically decrease your risk in a very short period of time.
- Avoid saturated fat from animals and replace with plant based oils.
A high intake of animal-based saturated fats (like high fat dairy, marbled meats, butters, shortening, etc) can lead to an increased risk of plaque accumulation and high cholesterol. You’ll want to switch to plant-based oils when cooking. These unsaturated fats are actually good for your heart and can actually improve cholesterol levels and therefore decrease risk of coronary artery disease.
My favorite for cooking is olive oil, just be careful not to burn it, but even safflower oil has a better unsaturated fat profile. And try poly-unsaturated risk grape seed oil. Even coconut oil, which has often been on the avoid list due to its high saturated fat profile, it has been shown in recent studies to improve HDL (good) cholesterol without impacting LDL (bad) cholesterol. Just be careful of how much you are using, if you are also trying to lose weight as fats are still calorie dense and contain 100-120 calories per tablespoon.
5. Increase fish intake.
Fish are a great source of protein, and specifically salmon, tuna and white fish are rich sources of heart-healthy, antioxidant rich omega-3s. You should aim to eat fish twice a week, with at least one of those times being the omega-3 rich fish for those heart-healthy benefits. The other time you can have less omega 3, but still great lean protein sources such as shrimp, oysters and tilapia.
Avoid frying fish. Try making a fish taco with a lettuce wrap or 100% whole wheat tortilla with a salsa or slaw. Blackening some fish with a creole seasoning in a cast iron skillet with just a touch of oil in the pan is another great option. To achieve the fried texture you desire, place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and roast the fish in the oven that you’ve sprinkled with stone ground corn meal for that whole grain, but crispy crunch on the top.
6. Sneak in non-starchy veggies whenever you can and chose fruit as snacks.
They are lower calorie, higher fiber and more nutritious options to salty, processed foods like chips and crackers. Furthermore, they contain healthy compounds called phytonutrients that are great antioxidants to help battle the stress, damage and inflammation our bodies encounter over time, especially when trying to reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure.
7. Replace enriched flours with whole grains.
Whole grains are key because of their higher fiber content, which makes them more filling, but they also help to clean out your arteries, GI system and help lower cholesterol. It’s not always as easy as seeing the words “Whole Grain” on the packaging as many times this is not truly 100% whole grains. Always check the ingredient list to see “whole grain wheat flour” or “whole grain long grain rice” as examples rather than wheat flour, bleached or unbleached flour, long grain rice, etc.
If you need help achieving a healthy weight to reduce any of your risk factors or need help tailoring your current food choices to match this priority list, you can reach Rebecca at remiller@ochsner.org or 504.842-9551.
Rebecca Miller {MPH, RDN, LDN} is a registered dietitian with Ochsner Fitness Center. She also writes a healthy recipe blog called Twisted Nutrition and can be followed on Facebook and Instagram.
