Love Your Heart

September 30th, 2021 by Renee Hastings, Student Dietitian

It can be tricky knowing what foods to eat for our heart health as there is a lot of mis information out there.  Here is our overview of how you can protect your heart health while still enjoying a range of different foods for a fulfilling life.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the term used to describe medical conditions involving our heart and blood vessels. Coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure are the most common CVD conditions, affecting 1.2 million (5.6%) Australians.  The main factors affecting the heart and blood vessels that can increase the risk of CVD include high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Management

High blood pressure strains the heart and blood vessels as the heart has to work harder to pump the blood around the body. Factors contributing to high blood pressure include a high salt intake, alcohol consumption and lack of physical activity. High cholesterol levels also contribute to CVD as fat can build up in the arteries that supply the heart with blood. This limits the blood flow to the heart and can increase the risk of blockages.

Focusing on lifestyle habits to manage cholesterol and blood pressure works independently to just losing weight. Lifestyle changes, regardless of weight, provide many benefits that can set you up for long term health improvements and are much more reliable and sustainable.

Choosing 2 serves of fruit, 5 serves (2 1/2 cups) of vegetables and whole grains daily in your diet as well as lean meat/ meat alternatives (eggs, seafood, nuts, seeds) and healthy fats (avocado, olive or canola oil), can help to decrease your risk of developing CVD. This way of eating is very nutritious-high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and low in salt and saturated fat.

Decreasing salt helps with hypertension and can be achieved by cooking mostly fresh home-made foods from scratch, avoiding adding salt to your food and trying other ways of flavouring such as herbs, spices, vinegar or lemon and lime juice. When shopping, it can be difficult to buy low salt. The ideal is 120mg/100g or labelled ‘low salt’ but sometimes you just need to choose the lowest salt product available.

Cholesterol is a type of fat made in the liver and is required by the body to work effectively. It becomes a problem, when it builds up in the blood. High levels of cholesterol in the blood is caused by a high intake of saturated fat in the diet. Saturated fat is commonly found in animal products such as full fat dairy and meat products. While consuming dairy products and meat is beneficial to a healthy diet opting for the leaner meat including game meats such as kangaroo and low fat dairy products will help to lower your overall intake of saturated fat. Chicken, turkey, pork, fish and lean beef contain less saturated fat naturally where as sausages, salami and other processed meats are a lot higher in saturated fat. Cutting off the visible fat and taking the skin off meat and poultry is a good way to help you cut down on saturated fat. Other foods to try and limit include deep fried foods, take-away foods, cakes, biscuits, ice cream, pastries and pies.

When it comes to butter and margarine, it is the amount of saturated fat that divides them. While butter is the more natural of the two and does contain small amounts of vitamins, it also contains a high amount of saturated fat. Margarines are manufactured products that have had nutrients added to them and are high in unsaturated fats which have the ability to lower cholesterol levels. When comparing these products in terms of heart health, margarine is the healthier choice. Swapping from butter to margarine will help to reduce overall saturated fat in the diet and protect your heart. If you enjoy butter, the suggestion is to limit how much you have and use a range of other spreads like avocado, fish paste, olive paste, hommus or other low fat dips, cottage cheese, nut or seed butters (peanut butter) or even some left over mashed vegetables like pumpkin.

Coconut oil has been marketed as having great health benefits due to its natural state and unique fat profile. However, the latest research says that coconut oil is mostly saturated and therefore has the same effect on heart health as other foods high in saturated fat and should be limited in the diet.

There are some products that can reduce how much cholesterol is absorbed from food which contain naturally occurring ingredients called plant sterols and stanols. They can be found naturally in small amounts in plant foods. Some margarine spreads, breakfast cereals, low fat yoghurt and milk have been specially made with these plant sterols and stanols. Combined with a healthy eating pattern, these products can help to reduce overall cholesterol levels. The recommended intake is 2-3 grams per day however it can be difficult to reach this dose whilst also focusing on overall healthy eating and energy intake. These products can be quite expensive so it is recommended to focus on healthy eating patterns first and consult a Dietitian for further guidance and support.

Omega 3 fats have been shown to manage cholesterol levels and protect against CVD. The recommended intake of omega 3 fatty acids to prevent CVD is 2-3 servings of fish per week and ~1g of plant sourced omega 3s per day (oil, nuts and seeds).

Sources of omega 3 fatty acids include:

• Eggs-regular and omega 3 enriched
• Sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean and grape seed oil (~2 teaspoons)
• Oily fish such as fresh or canned salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines
• Nuts including pecans and walnuts (~¼ cup/30g)
• Seeds including linseeds/flaxseeds and chia seeds (~1 tablespoon)

Supplements can be an easy way to get those omega 3s in. Supplement dosage varies depending on your age and health conditions.  So speak to a health professional about taking an omega 3 supplement. 

Alcohol

Alcohol consumption can increase blood pressure and contribute to heart damage and heart attacks. It is recommended that if you do drink to have no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one occasion.  A standard drink is approximately 100ml of wine, 30mls of spirits and beer can range from 285-425ml.

Move it!

Our bodies are made to move! We know physical activity decreases the risk of CVD by helping to manage blood pressure and decreasing the risk of blood vessels becoming blocked.

If you currently do not do any physical activity, start by doing something you enjoy for a short amount of time start with and gradually increase the time and frequency.  

It is recommended adults be physically active for at least 30 minutes most if not all days of the week and if you are aged between 18-64 years aiming for either 2.5-5 hours of moderate intensity activity, 1.25-2.5 hours of vigorous intensity activity or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activity.

Moderate intensity activity can include a brisk walk, mowing the lawn or swimming while vigorous intensity can include jogging, cycling, or playing a sport such as soccer or netball.

If you have CVD an Exercise Physiologist can use exercise as treatment using both cardio and weight bearing activities, just like your doctor uses medication as treatment.

Combining healthy eating strategies with physical activity is the best way to look after your heart health for many years to come.