What is heart-healthy food? A friend of mine was faced with this question recently. He thought he was in good health – but he suddenly and unexpectedly experienced a serious heart attack. Although he had at times been experiencing some pain while exercising, he passed it off, not thinking about or maybe even realizing that that can be a warning sign.
Fortunately, he did not succumb to the heart attack! Several stents later…he seems to be doing fine, but it completely changed his focus to what should he really be eating to give his heart the necessary support that it needs. He and his wife had to plan a completely different approach.
What Heart-Healthy Food Is Not
This may be a more important question to ask up-front than to ask what heart-healthy food is. This is especially true if a heart attack has already occurred or is imminent! So this is what heart-healthy food is not…
It is not saturated or transfats. Saturated fats are one of the biggest culprits! The first one that comes to mind is red meat. Also, cheese, butter, and other forms of animal fats are included.
Of course, when we say red meat, we primarily mean the fats associated with red meat – which can be hard to avoid if you eat a lot of steak and roast! So this is possibly the number one food to avoid, especially if you have coronary artery disease or have just had a heart attack.
It is not foods with a lot of sodium or salt. This is because high sodium levels contribute to high blood pressure, which in turn can be a major factor in heart attacks! You have to concern yourself not only with how much salt you use to prepare food, but the amount of salt already in processed food. It can have an extremely high sodium content.
It is not sugar. Added sugars, in particular, are dangerous, because they can increase the risk of obesity, and obesity can definitely be a factor in heart disease – particularly in men. Added sugar is worse than natural sugar like that occurring in fruit because foods with natural sugar also contain nutrients that help keep the metabolism stable.
It is not alcohol. Alcohol should only be used in moderation, at best. Alcohol adds calories and causes weight gain, increases blood pressure, and raises the level of triglycerides, thus increasing the risk of heart disease.
What Heart-Healthy Food Is
It IS vegetables and fruits. I know, “fruits and vegetables” come across almost like a “broken record” (pardon the cliché) when any good diet is mentioned – they’re almost always at the top of the list! They are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. We don’t need to spell out names, everyone knows what they are and where to find them in the grocery store! If you don’t know, don’t start looking in the potato chip aisle, I’ll just say that…!!
It IS whole grains and legumes. Again, almost a broken record! These are rich in fiber, which leads to lower cholesterol levels. Put whole grains and legumes together, and you have a complete healthy plant-based protein!
It IS high-protein food. Skinless poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, and beans are examples.
It IS healthy fats. Sometimes it seems like there is a lot of confusion in the “oils” world; there are transfats, saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats… What you want is polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats! Olive oil, sunflower oil, avocados, and fatty fish like salmon are what you are looking for. The other fats, not so much…
It IS low-fat dairy products! Low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, other low-fat cheese, and skim milk are great examples.
Very Simple and Budget-Friendly
That these foods are healthy is a given – that’s what the whole post is about. But is it simple and budget-friendly? Some of the items that are listed in the “good for you” category for a heart-friendly diet are definitely not the cheapest in the world. You
don’t, however, need to eat everything that is good for you! You can pick and choose! “Lean meat” can sometimes be pricey, that’s for sure. They do for sure charge extra to trim away that extra fat! It’s the same with skinless, boneless chicken breast. Salmon – as we write – is not cheap, that’s for sure. Unless you own an avocado orchard, avocados are not all that cheap. Nuts can be also expensive at times. Olive oil – you don’t actually use all that much at once, so it will last a long time.
Looking at things from the standpoint of what you DON’T need to buy, it’s definitely cheaper not to buy all the highly processed foods that are full of sodium and sugar and that are bad for your heart! It’s definitely cheaper not to buy alcohol – in more ways than one.
Budget-Friendliest of All
As for the healthy foods, just pick from the “cheap” foods on the list. Start with whole grains. Oatmeal will not give you a heart attack! If you can find a less expensive food than oatmeal, pound for pound, I can’t think what would be. Whole grain bread is not expensive – it all depends on how sophisticated you get, but just plain whole-wheat bread? – it’s not all that pricey. Fruits and vegetables are “all over the map,” so to speak. Pick the less expensive ones, they’re still good for you!
Throw in some beans. Dried beans are probably the cheapest – a little cumbersome to prepare since you have to rinse them, soak them, boil them, etc., but hey, maybe try canned beans? They’re still cheap – and you can even get no-salt varieties, at least in the supermarkets I’ve checked. There’s very little downside to beans!
Depending on where you live, low-fat dairy products aren’t all that expensive – like low-fat cottage cheese, for example.
“Very simple?” Just keep it simple, that’s all! No fancy recipes are needed. Mix fruit and oatmeal and top with some yogurt, mix beans and rice, and add some no-salt or low-salt seasoning. You can make it as simple or complex as you wish! This leads us to…
Spice It Up
To avoid salt, get the no-salt to low-salt spicy seasonings! Some of them are pretty good! Check in the “seasoned salt” area of your friendly neighborhood market.
Conclusion
It should be completely possible, with little strain or pain, to eat a heart-healthy diet, simply and inexpensively. The biggest adjustment will obviously be to have the willpower to make the necessary changes. The habits of many years can be hard to break! What it requires is a commitment to health that exceeds our love of the foods that we have been eating – which may have led us to the unhealthy state that we may be currently in!
If you have any thoughts or comments about this subject, please feel free to share in the space below!
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