Heart Disease Diet
If you think that you are at risk of developing coronary problems, then you really should get started on a heart disease diet. Simply beginning to eat right and exercise regularly can add several years to your life, even if you have heart problems.
Sometimes heart disease is referred to as coronary artery disease. This is a disease that affects the arteries that carry blood to your heart. There are times when a substance called plaque can develop in your heart, slowing down your blood flow and eventually completely blocking it. Some of the food that you eat can actually make this occur faster. However, if you concentrate on a heart disease diet there are ways in which you can reduce this risk.
Whenever plaque builds up on your arteries’ walls your blood flow is restricted and your blood pressure increased. Having high blood pressure is one of the many signs of heart disease. Another sign is high cholesterol. This is why it is very important to understand what the difference between good and bad cholesterol is. Once you understand this you will know which type of cholesterol will need to be reduced through a heart disease diet.
The good type of cholesterol is known as high-density lipoprotein or HDL. This type of cholesterol helps to carry the bad cholesterol away from your arteries. The bad type of cholesterol is known as low-density lipoprotein. This is what can block your arteries and lead to a heart attack. Eating a heart disease diet can lower your LDL and reduce your risk of having a heart attack.
You should reduce, or even eliminate, your intake of meat, poultry, cheese and whole milk in order to lower your LDL cholesterol. Whenever you are on a heart disease diet, you should eat more foods that come from plants. These include cereal, fruits and vegetables because they do not contain any cholesterol.
Of course, some of the foods that do not contain animal fat do contain trans fats. This can cause the body to create more of its own cholesterol, which should also be avoided or at least reduced. Some foods that are high in trans-fatty acids include french fries and doughnuts. For this reason, heart disease diets contain less fried food and recommend the use of unhydrogenated cooking oils such as canola or olive oil. Many of these diets are still debating whether you should use butter or margarine. The reason for this is because some margarines contain a high level of trans-fatty acids, but butter causes cholesterol in the blood.