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Healthy eating for a healthy heart

Eating a healthy diet is good for your heart and your circulation. You should try to:

• Reduce the amount of fat eaten (especially animal fat)
• Include oily fish once or twice a week
• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables - at least 5 portions a day
• Eat less sugar and salt
• Include more high fibre foods especially oats and pulses eg beans, peas, lentils.
• Avoid being overweight.

Ways of reducing fat in your diet

• Cook by methods other than frying, use only a small amount of oil in cooking - olive oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil are all suitable.
• Cut off fat from meat and avoid fatty meats such as sausages and burgers; remove skin from chicken.
• Avoid foods which are high in fat eg pastry, chips, crisps, chocolate, cream, most cakes and biscuits.
• Look out for lower fat products - lower fat milk, cheese and yoghurt
• Try to make a 250g tub of fat spread last for 2 weeks and choose from a mono or polyunsaturated variety.
• Avoid saturated fats eg. butter, hard margarine, lard, dripping.

Oily fish

• Try to include oily fish once or twice a week.this may be tinned or fresh variety.
• Pilchards, sardines, herring, mackerel, salmon, trout and kippers all contain a type of fat (omega 3) which helps to stop the blood from clotting too quickly.
• Discuss with your Doctor if you feel you need to take an Omega 3 supplement.

Fruit and vegetables

Try to include a good variety of fruit and vegetables - at least 5 servings each day. A serving is:

• 1 glass of fruit juice
• small bowl of salad
• 2 tablespoons of fresh or frozen vegetables
• 1 fruit e.g. apple/orange/banana/pear/peach
• 2 tablespoons of tinned or dried fruit

High fibre foods

Try to increase your fibre intake by choosing:

• high fibre breakfast cereals eg Bran Flakes, porridge, Weetabix, muesli
• High fibre breads eg wholemeal, granary
• Pulses eg peas, beans, lentils
• wholewheat pasta and rice

Eating less sugar

• Try to have drinks with no sugar or use sweetener.
• Reduce amount of sweet foods eaten eg cake, sweets, puddings, ice cream chocolate, biscuits. (an occasional scone, bun, teacake, fruit loaf is a healthier choice)
• Use low Calorie/sugar free/diet soft drinks.

Eating less salt

• Try to use only a small amount of salt in cooking and don't add extra at table.
• Limit salty foods such as crisps, salted nuts, bacon, tinned meats, stock cubes.
• Try using herbs,spices and garlic to flavour foods.

Alcohol

Small amounts of alcohol may be beneficial but remember that alcohol is high in Calories. Try not to exceed 2 units a day for women and 3 units a day for men.

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