How to Prevent a Heart Attack
Eat a balanced diet., Watch your cholesterol levels., Try the DASH diet., Reduce your sodium intake., Put whole grains into your diet., Eat more fruits and vegetables., Consume lean protein selectively., Have more soy.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Eat a balanced diet.
To help prevent blockage and reduce plaque buildup in your heart, you need to consume healthy, balanced meals.
In general, a balanced diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy.
It also includes lean proteins, such as poultry, fish, and beans.
You should also only eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fats, and cholesterol.
Avoid butter, fried foods, and cheese.
Avoid dairy product with added sugar and higher calorie content.
The USDA has many resources available to learn more about how to create a balance diet. -
Step 2: Watch your cholesterol levels.
CAD and the development of plaque is the result of elevated cholesterol and sugars, as well as chronically elevated blood pressure.
To help reduce your cholesterol, reduce your number of carbohydrates, especially the high glycemic and high fructose foods.
These are often referred to as simple or bad carbs because they are high in calories but low in the amount of energy they create during metabolism.
They are processed and expended by your body very quickly and lead to fat deposition and spikes in bad sugars and fats.
Simple carbs include foods such as cookies, cakes, candy, processed cereals, white bread, white rice, chips, sodas, juices, and non-diet soft drinks.When you consume an excess of fat, sugar, or carbohydrates, your body metabolizes these into a type of molecule called lipids, which include cholesterol and triglycerides.
Having unhealthy levels of lipids causes too much fat circulating in the blood.
This contributes to the development of fatty plaques in vessel walls., The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is a medically designed and studied diet plan that focuses on reducing blood pressure.
It was shown the significantly lower both levels of blood pressures.
The diet is high in vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and lean proteins.
It is also low in sodium, added-sugars, and fats.
It emphasizes small portion size, cutting out animal proteins, and getting enough nutrients like as potassium, calcium, and magnesium., Decreasing dietary salt intake can decrease blood pressure by several points.
This will help lower your chances of heart attack because your blood will not be moving so quickly through your heart.
Current recommendations are that those with high blood pressure should limit their sodium intake to less than 1500 to 2000 mg per day.
Look for foods that are no salt added or reduced sodium.
Don't add excess salt to your foods either.
Avoid many prepackaged meals because they tend to have extremely high levels of sodium.
Be mindful of serving sizes as you eat.
Make sure to keep track of the sodium you consume each day and try to keep it below 1500 mg., The DASH diet recommends six to eight servings of whole grains a day.
Grains are eaten in foods such as pasta, bread, and rice.
Try to eat whole grains over refined grains.
If you've got a choice, opt for whole grain pasta instead of regular pasta; brown rice instead of white rice; whole wheat bread instead of white bread.
Always look for labels that clearly state "100 percent whole grain" or "100 percent whole wheat."
Vegetables are delicious, diverse, and extremely healthy.
Use fruits both as a natural treat and a substitute for refined, sugary sweets that you might have a hankering for.
DASH recommends that you get four to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Eat more squash, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, artichokes, and carrots to up your vegetables intake as well as increase your daily fiber, potassium, and magnesium.
Leave on the edible peels of fruits for extra fiber.
The peels of apples, kiwis, pears, and mangoes can all be eaten and enjoyed along with the fruit., Although a great deal of protein is not suggested, you should eat lean meats and proteins when you do.
Eat no more than six servings of lean proteins per day, such as poultry breast, fish, or eggs.
When you do make meat, trim away any fat or skin from the meat before cooking.
Cook them by grilling, broiling, roasting, boiling, or poaching instead of frying.
Opt for more fish instead.
Fish such as salmon contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which help ease hypertension instead of contributing to it. , You should eat more soy, which contains isoflavones.
These can act to lower levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides as well as raise levels of good cholesterol.
Additionally, soy products are lower in saturated fats than other types of proteins.
Supplementing some of you proteins with soy can create a healthier diet.
You can buy edamame, which are soy beans, as well as tofu, soy nuts, or other foods with soy as a main ingredient. -
Step 3: Try the DASH diet.
-
Step 4: Reduce your sodium intake.
-
Step 5: Put whole grains into your diet.
-
Step 6: Eat more fruits and vegetables.
-
Step 7: Consume lean protein selectively.
-
Step 8: Have more soy.
Detailed Guide
To help prevent blockage and reduce plaque buildup in your heart, you need to consume healthy, balanced meals.
In general, a balanced diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy.
It also includes lean proteins, such as poultry, fish, and beans.
You should also only eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fats, and cholesterol.
Avoid butter, fried foods, and cheese.
Avoid dairy product with added sugar and higher calorie content.
The USDA has many resources available to learn more about how to create a balance diet.
CAD and the development of plaque is the result of elevated cholesterol and sugars, as well as chronically elevated blood pressure.
To help reduce your cholesterol, reduce your number of carbohydrates, especially the high glycemic and high fructose foods.
These are often referred to as simple or bad carbs because they are high in calories but low in the amount of energy they create during metabolism.
They are processed and expended by your body very quickly and lead to fat deposition and spikes in bad sugars and fats.
Simple carbs include foods such as cookies, cakes, candy, processed cereals, white bread, white rice, chips, sodas, juices, and non-diet soft drinks.When you consume an excess of fat, sugar, or carbohydrates, your body metabolizes these into a type of molecule called lipids, which include cholesterol and triglycerides.
Having unhealthy levels of lipids causes too much fat circulating in the blood.
This contributes to the development of fatty plaques in vessel walls., The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is a medically designed and studied diet plan that focuses on reducing blood pressure.
It was shown the significantly lower both levels of blood pressures.
The diet is high in vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and lean proteins.
It is also low in sodium, added-sugars, and fats.
It emphasizes small portion size, cutting out animal proteins, and getting enough nutrients like as potassium, calcium, and magnesium., Decreasing dietary salt intake can decrease blood pressure by several points.
This will help lower your chances of heart attack because your blood will not be moving so quickly through your heart.
Current recommendations are that those with high blood pressure should limit their sodium intake to less than 1500 to 2000 mg per day.
Look for foods that are no salt added or reduced sodium.
Don't add excess salt to your foods either.
Avoid many prepackaged meals because they tend to have extremely high levels of sodium.
Be mindful of serving sizes as you eat.
Make sure to keep track of the sodium you consume each day and try to keep it below 1500 mg., The DASH diet recommends six to eight servings of whole grains a day.
Grains are eaten in foods such as pasta, bread, and rice.
Try to eat whole grains over refined grains.
If you've got a choice, opt for whole grain pasta instead of regular pasta; brown rice instead of white rice; whole wheat bread instead of white bread.
Always look for labels that clearly state "100 percent whole grain" or "100 percent whole wheat."
Vegetables are delicious, diverse, and extremely healthy.
Use fruits both as a natural treat and a substitute for refined, sugary sweets that you might have a hankering for.
DASH recommends that you get four to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Eat more squash, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, artichokes, and carrots to up your vegetables intake as well as increase your daily fiber, potassium, and magnesium.
Leave on the edible peels of fruits for extra fiber.
The peels of apples, kiwis, pears, and mangoes can all be eaten and enjoyed along with the fruit., Although a great deal of protein is not suggested, you should eat lean meats and proteins when you do.
Eat no more than six servings of lean proteins per day, such as poultry breast, fish, or eggs.
When you do make meat, trim away any fat or skin from the meat before cooking.
Cook them by grilling, broiling, roasting, boiling, or poaching instead of frying.
Opt for more fish instead.
Fish such as salmon contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which help ease hypertension instead of contributing to it. , You should eat more soy, which contains isoflavones.
These can act to lower levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides as well as raise levels of good cholesterol.
Additionally, soy products are lower in saturated fats than other types of proteins.
Supplementing some of you proteins with soy can create a healthier diet.
You can buy edamame, which are soy beans, as well as tofu, soy nuts, or other foods with soy as a main ingredient.
About the Author
Charles Mitchell
Creates helpful guides on lifestyle to inspire and educate readers.
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