Healthy Heart

EATING SMART FOR A HEALTHY HEART

The foods you eat influence your lives, your health, your activity and your energy. As is obvious, your eating habits by far contribute immensely to your fitness. You need to eat a good diet to maintain the health of your heart. Let us make a "Heart Healthy" diet, a part of your daily routine by eating right and reduce cardiovascular disease risks and prevent further progression in those with existing heart disease

This group includes wheat, jowar, bajra, oats, barley, buckwheat, corn, ragi (nachni), broken wheat (dalia) etc. that form the staple food in most of our households. You can enjoy all these nutritious basic foods in your regular meals, as these do not add up to your daily fat limit. Instead, these foods abound in the many vitamins and minerals that your body needs for maintenance of healthy cells.

It is wiser to eat grains with their bran (outer covering of cereals), as bran is a rich source of fibre, which helps to increase the blood HDL levels in the body. For example, whole wheat is a better option as compared to maida and semolina. However, if you do consume maida occasionally do remember to combine it with equal parts of wheat flour or include other sources of fibre to keep a check on blood cholesterol levels.

See the table below for other healthy cereal choice.

The "Heart-healthy" Cereal & Grain switch…Increase your Fibre and Nutrient Intake

Include 6 to 8 servings of this group in your daily diet.
One serving of cereal is:
1 slice of whole wheat bread (25 gm)
or
2 phulkas (30 gm)
or
1 chapati (25 gm)
or
1 paratha (25 gm)
or
½ cup of all cooked pasta (60 to 80 gm)

Moong, rajma, toovar dal, chana dal, moath beans, chana, soyabeans etc. are all a part of this group. These are rich sources of protein, which is essential for maintaining the wear and tear of tissues in the body. It is necessary to soak, drain and then cook the pulses as they contain some anti-nutritional factors like trypsin inhibitors and phytates, which decrease the digestibility of protein and hinder the absorption of other nutrients.

Sprouting the pulses increases their fibre and nutrient (calcium, vitamin C and iron) content. So, try and include sprouts in any one meal of the day to take advantage of its fibre content. This will help you control the blood cholesterol levels. Try interesting variation with sprouts like Tava Sprouts Rice and Sprouted Moong and Methi Chilas if your are fussy about eating sprouts by themselves.

Soya, the king of pulses, is the highest protein rich pulse. Apart from being rich in fibre, soya has overall been proven to control the rise in bad cholesterol (LDL) in our body too. So, most nutritionists advise to make soya a part of the daily diet rather than consuming it occasionally.

To make soya bean a part of your regular meals, either use its flour or products that are available in the market. The products are soya chunks and soya granules. The soya flour can be mixed into your roti atta in the proportion of 4 parts of wheat flour (atta) and 1 part of soya atta. Soya atta is less in quantity because adding more of soya atta gives an aftertaste to the rotis. You can use soya flour in cutlets or in your regular pancake mixture too. However, always remember to add wheat flour along with it as soya alone gives a very bitter or sometimes, an-off flavour to the product. The other way of using soya is by extracting its milk and then adding it to the recipes.

It is advisable to use freshly cooked pusles rather than their canned version. This is because the latter is too high in sodium which is unhealthy for the heart as excessive sodium too is known to narrow down the blood flow to the heart.

Check the table below for nutritious protein rich foods for a healthy heart.

The "Heart-healthy" Pulse & Legume switch…Decrease your Sodium Intake

Having 2 to 3 servings of this group is sufficient to fulfil your daily needs for protein.

One serving of pulse or legume is :
¼ cup of whole pulses (35 to 40 gm)
or
½ cup of cooked whole pulses (70 to 80 gm)
or
½ cup sprouts (60 to 80 gm)
or
¼ cup of raw dal (30 to 40 gm)
or
½ cup cooked dal (70 to 80 gm)
or
½ cup of flours (40 to 60 gm)

Dairy products like milk, paneer, curds, cheese, buttermilk, cream cheese, cream, butter and ghee together make up this group. As the source of milk is an animal source, it contains high amounts of cholesterol and you would be surprised to know that half the calories in milk actually come from fat that is mostly saturated. Saturated fat has a tendency to get converted to cholesterol in the body thus raising the blood cholesterol level. However, to prevent heart disease or maintain blood cholesterol levels, you need not completely go off dairy products.

To help cut down on the fat from dairy products all you have to do is switch to low fat milk and other dairy products. These are equally good sources of protein and calcium with fewer calories and traces of fat.

Preparing low fat milk at home does not demand much effort from your side. It is very easy to prepare. All you need to do is boil the milk and skim the fat layer (malai) that is formed after it has cooled. Repeat this procedure at least twice or three times to get almost fat free milk. Another easier way to make low fat milk is to mix skim milk powder with water to make milk, curds, low fat paneer etc.

The table below is sure to help you make your dairy product selection easier.

The "Heart-healthy" Dairy Products switch…Decrease your Fat Intake

Feel free to have 2 to 3 servings of dairy products daily to make up for your protein and calcium requirement.
One serving of dairy product is:
1 cup low fat milk (200 ml)
or
1 cup low fat curds (200 ml)
or
½ cup chopped low fat paneer (70 gm)

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'... they say. I would say not just apples but oranges, guava, peaches, plums, cluster beans, cauliflower, cabbage and so on and so forth….… There is a wide selection in fruits and vegetables in a pantry. All you have to do is include a wide variety of these fruits and vegetables in your daily diet to increase the intake of fibre present in these foods. Fibre is the substance in foods, which is only partially digested or not-at-all digested in the body. Fibre is the key to protecting the heart as it not only helps to decrease bad cholesterol but also the total cholesterol itself. Have fruits and vegetables like guava, apple, carrots etc unpeeled, as most of the fibre is present just beneath the peel.

Fruits and vegetables also abound in vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E- all three of which decrease the build up of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body, due to their antioxidant property.

Try the 'healthy-heart' fruit and vegetable switch as shown below to increase your fibre intake and you are sure to control your blood cholesterol levels.

The "Heart-healthy" Fruit & vegetable switch…increase your Fibre Intake

By saying instead of starchy fruits and vegetables have other fruits and vegetables we don't mean to completely avoid them. Make them an occasionally used ingredient in your cooking and watch the way you cook them. For example, you can have a potato treat once in a while, but do not fry it. The calories and fat coming from fried potatoes is the actual culprit. Alternatively you can also make healthy creations like Sweet Potato Salad by combining it with the fibre rich fruits and vegetables.

When it comes to vegetables for healthy heart, a meal is said to be incomplete without the use of onion and garlic. The sulphur compound in them act as anticoagulant which helps to decrease the cholesterol levels in the blood thus preventing clot formation. Hence health experts strongly advice to make raw onion and garlic a part of your daily diet. If you are fussy about eating them raw, due to bad breath, cook them with your regular food. However ensure not to overcook them as too much heating leads to loss of sulphur compounds which in reality aid in building a healthy heart.

Taking care of your heart is probably the single most important thing you can do for your body and using the right kind of cooking medium is an essential part of that care, along with keeping fit.

You eat what the land gives you. Regionally, people cooked in the oil extracted from oil seeds native to their land. Groundnut, mustard, sesame seed oils are all traditionally used cooking mediums - tried and tested by generations of housewives who found them healthy to use for their families. Mustard oil is ideal for pickling because of its natural preservative properties. Sesame oil enhances flavour of Chinese cuisine and regular daily cooking.

From this wide range of oils, one question that springs in most minds is "Does each of these oils give equal calories?"

Yes, all fats and oils have the same amount of calories, be it ghee, butter, coconut oil or groundnut oil. Low calorie edible oils are a myth.
1 teaspoon of oil and ghee = 05 gram = 45 calories
1 tablespoon of oil and ghee = 15 gram = 135 calories

However, all oils and ghee are not equal in their effect on blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Broadly speaking there are 3 types of fats present in oils and ghee. They are:

SATURATED FATTY ACIDS (SFA) - are bad for your heart as they get deposited on the arteries causing blockages. Butter, ghee, hydrogenated Oils (vanaspati), coconut oil, etc. are examples of saturated fatty acids.

POLY-UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (PUFA) based oils lower total blood cholesterol, both, the 'good' and the 'bad'. They may cause damage to the arteries of the heart. Safflower oil and sunflower oil are some PUFA based oils. However PUFA are Omega 3 and 6 fats and essential for the body. You can obtain these fats by adding small quantities of any one of walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, soy products etc. to your daily meals, rather than having it from PUFA based oils.

MONO-UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (MUFA) MUFA oils lower only the 'bad' or unhealthy blood cholesterol and improve the 'good' and healthy blood cholesterol levels. This helps reduce risk of heart diseases. Olive oil, groundnut oil, sesame oil and mustard oil are MUFA based oils.

The table below explains the function of each of these fats in detail.

It is clearly evident from the above table that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease as it has a tendency to get converted to cholesterol in the body. Hence it is advisable for people with high blood cholesterol levels or even heart disease, people desirous of a healthy heart, to avoid the use of ghee, butter etc. Instead the right choice of oil makes a better cooking medium as it will have very little saturated fat and high content of unsaturated fat. However, do remember to use this sparingly as well.

It is advisable for healthy individuals to consume no more than 6 teaspoons (30 grams) of oil per day and not more than 3 teaspoons per day for people with high cholesterol levels or heart disease. Another way of keeping a check on the oil consumption is to measure ½ litre of oil (approx. ½ kg.) per person per month.

Now the next question that comes to most minds is " Which oil is the best?"
The answer to this is clear as you can see from the above table. Certainly, all the oils mentioned in the MUFA category. Multiple usage of MUFA based oils in your diet will ensure all nutrients and anti-oxidants present in these oils are included in the daily diet of your family.

Olive oil has been considered healthy amongst this category in the West as it blends with their food taste while groundnut oil is a good option for Indian palates. Studies have shown that groundnut oil is just as effective in protecting against heart disease, as is olive oil. This is because it has similar properties and a similar fatty acid composition, as does olive oil. In addition, refined groundnut oil has special properties that slow down the absorption of cholesterol in the blood, and this works beneficially towards improving heart health. Groundnut oil is naturally stable with a high smoking point, ideal as a multi-purpose cooking medium and safe to reuse.

Though research is still in progress and the exact reason for walnuts being healthy for heart is not very clear, some of the recent discoveries in this area of research has brought a startling fact to the forefront. Alpha linoleic acid, one of the fatty acid components that make up the total fat in walnuts, reduces the tendency to form blood clots and actually regulates healthy heart beat.

Walnuts are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids (an essential amino acid) and arginine (an amino acid, which is necessary of for the body's production of nitric oxide that keeps the lining of the arteries healthy and elastic allowing proper blood flow to the heart) and magnesium (which is necessary for healthy functioning of the heart). They abound in vitamin E and folic acid too which helps to decrease the homocysteine levels in our body and thus the risk of heart problems. Increased levels of homocysteine have been found to increase the LDL cholesterol in the body and also increase the chances of clot formation.

While nuts are good for you, they have certain drawbacks too. They are loaded with calories undoubtedly. So, while you should include nuts in a healthy heart diet, they shouldn't be an-add on to your regular diet BUT should substitutes some already present source of calories. Otherwise the benefits of eating nuts might be negated by your expanded waistline. Consult your nutritionist to help you plan your healthy diet, as she is the best person to know your physiological status and pattern of eating.

According to the latest research, 2 to 3 walnuts consumed 2 to 3 times a week can help to lower the risk of heart disease and can help to avoid further damage to the heart in people with existing heart problems or high blood cholesterol levels. The best way to add this nut to your diet is to add it to salads, pasta etc. Sweet Potato Salad, Date and Walnut Balls and so on.

Amongst the dried fruits dates, figs and apricots are healthy options as they lend the necessary sweetness to desserts and milkshakes along with fibre which has a helping hand in controlling blood cholesterol levels. Soya Date Cookies and Fig and Cardamom Delight are perfect examples of this.

Put on your Chef cap and get ready for a 'Nutty- heart healthy' meal - Say "N (o) UT" to heart disease!!