The human heart is a very delicate organ and one of the most important part of the body. Since it is the most vulnerable it succumbs easily to fatal disorders such as heart attacks. To prevent the occurence of such attacks, the cardiac diet is prescribed for people, who are at a constant risk. People with a vulnerable heart have heart diseases or history of heart diseases such as dyslipidemia, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, previous heart attacks or obesity. The diet mostly focusses on the way to reduce the intake of unhealthy food and maintaning a balance. For instance, it is recommended to cut down on beverages since this contains excessive amount of sodium. To balance that, one can eat fresh fruits and vegetables or fruit juices.
What exactly comprises of a Cardiac Diet? The anwer to that differs from person to person. Each person's metabolism is different, so a person needs to consult with his dietician to follow the prescribed diet. However there are a few ground rules that can be applied to every diet:
1)Use trans fat free margarine as a substitute to butter
2)Reduce intake of food rich in animal fat
3)More fruits and vegetables
4)Before consumption of packaged food, make sure the trans fat is marked 0 on the label
5)Fish as an addition to the diet
6)Try to reduce the amount of sodium in food
7)Stop consuming caffeine
Apart from food, cardiac diet is about maintaining a level of mobility as a part of the regime. Translated, one needs to excercise to keep oneself healthy. Stress plays a major role in frequency of inducing heart related disease, so it has been recommended to deal with it in different ways, instead of avoiding it. Relaxation techniques also help people deal with stress that can, otherwise prove to be fatal.
There are some pointers that come in handy and which dieticians all over the world recommend. They are listed as belows:
Fat Intake- This is the foremost rule that applies to every diet, including cardiac diet. Fat is a healthy constituent, but the intake of some fats such as animal fats should be reduced since it adds the added calories. There are some fats that are classified as unhealthy fats such as monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, trans fats and saturated fats. Monounsaturated fats is found in products such as avocados and olive oil. They help to lower the artery clogging cholesterol level. Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish and grain products. Trans fats are chemically processed and although they help to preserve food, but they cannot be digested easily by the body. And last of all is saturated fats and they are found in cheese, meat, palm kernel oil and coconut oil.
Fiber content- Fiber or high fiber content in one's diet helps to lower the high cholesterol in the body to make the heart healthy and reduce the risk of heart attacks. Men and women under and over the age of 50 have different measurements for fiber consumption. Fiber is usually found in commodities such as legumes, vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds and grains.
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