How To Plan A Heart Healthy Diet Menu

By: Sylvia Tsang

Break Studios Contributing Writer

If you want to beat any heart diseases, then you must know how to plan a heart healthy diet menu. This saying is very true, “What you eat is what you become.” In order to keep your heart healthy, most of you may have been doing exercises every day. Nevertheless, if you don’t eat right, you still can ruin your heart health no matter how much exercise you do. These 3 great tips will guide you on how to plan a heart healthy diet menu.

  1. Limit your intake on salt, unhealthy fats and cholesterol. The first tip on how to plan a heart healthy diet menu is to have food with as little salt, unhealthy fats and cholesterol as possible. According to American Heart Association, you should only have less than 1 teaspoon of salt per day. Besides, you are allowed to have the following amount of fats in your daily calories: Less than 7 percent of saturated fat, less than 1 percent of trans fat, less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol for healthy adults and less than 200 milligrams of cholesterol for those who have high levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL).
  2. Eat more fruits and vegetables. The second tip on how to plan a heart healthy diet menu is to intake more fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Regardless of how much you dislike fruits and vegetables, you eat them for the sake of your heart health. In fact, fruits and vegetables surely offer you these benefits: They are low in calories and high in dietary fiber. Besides, they will make you wanting less high fat food in a long run. Keep this in mind: Whenever you need a snack, grab a fruit or a vegetable. Farewell to all junk food.
  3. Measure your meal portion. The last tip on how to plan a heart healthy diet menu is to pay full attention to your meal portion. You can get your heart in trouble if you overeat. Make a good judgment on all the serving sizes. If you need help with that, consider using measuring cups, spoons and a scale as your assistance. It might seem very inconvenient and silly at the very beginning. However, as time goes on, you will get used to it. Your heart will work fine as long as you don’t overload your body with food.
Posted on: Nov. 20, 2010