Diabetes Forecast - February 2012

Food for Thought | HEALTHY HEART

not have the impact you hope for. That’s because packaged foods and restaurant meals are the real culprits. Limiting those foods can help. “If someone really wants to follow a 1,500-milligram sodium diet, they can’t eat out [often]. It’s going to be a treat for them,” says Jennifer Neily, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, a registered dietitian in private practice in Dallas.

Also a problem are processed
meats, such as bacon, salami, bologna,
and pastrami, which are all high in
sodium. “Honestly, turkey bacon is not
any more healthy than regular bacon,”
says Neily. “When it comes down to
the sodium content, it’s often worse.”
One eating plan that specifically
caters to those looking to reduce their
salt intake and lower blood pressure
is the DASH diet, which stands for
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hyper-
tension. This approach limits salt and
added sugar intake and also promotes
fruit and vegetable consumption.
Eating fruits and veggies increases
potassium, calcium, and magne-
sium—nutrients shown to positively
affect blood pressure.

2Get Smart About Fat The fat you eat is a direct player in heart disease, which is why a heart-healthy eating plan limits saturated fat and eliminates trans fats. Saturated fat, found

Here’s a sample day of meals with a heart-healthy focus. The Menu  whole grains  low-fat dairy  fruit & veggies  lean protein  healthful fats

BREAKFAST a cup of whole-grain cereal with half a cup of low-fat or nonfat milk, a tablespoon of nuts, and a serving of berries.

LUNCH

Sandwich on whole-grain bread with 3 ounces of chicken and a small amount of reduced-fat mayo, piled with veggies such as lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, and basil. Side of steamed broccoli with a drizzle of olive oil. a small piece of fruit.

mostly in meat, full-fat dairy, butter, and coconut and palm oils, is solid at room temperature and can raise your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels. Even worse: trans fats, which are typically artificial and added to processed foods to maintain their shelf life. “This type of fat is especially bad because too much can lower your HDL [‘good’] cholesterol and raise your LDL—a double whammy to your heart health,” says Willow Jarosh, RD, a registered dietitian in private practice in New York City.

Thanks to label laws, many restau-
rants and food manufacturers have
removed trans fats from their prod-
ucts. Yet plenty of packaged foods
claim to have zero trans fats but actu-
ally have some because amounts less
than a half gram per serving don’t
have to be listed. “To know with abso-
lute certainty, look at the ingredient
label and look for the words partially
hydrogenated,” says Neily. “There
might be a trace of trans fat in there,
and if you have multiple servings it’s
going to add up.”
Not all fats are harmful to your
heart, including monounsaturated
and polyunsaturated fats. Monoun-
saturated fats are found in plant-based
foods such as olive oil, avocados, and
nuts; polyunsaturated fats are found
in foods such as soybean and safflower
oils, fish, and walnuts.

SNACK

a container of low-fat, no-sugar-added yogurt.

DINNER

three ounces of tenderloin and a tossed salad with nonstarchy veggies and e cup of cold quinoa with a dressing of olive oil, vinegar, and spices.

3Choose Your Meats Wisely Because saturated fat is a no-no for heart health, be selective about what meat you eat. Red meats such as beef, lamb, and venison are high in saturated fat. Opt for lean meats such as skinless chicken and turkey, pork tenderloin or loin roast (but not ham or bacon, which are high in sodium), and fish.