Foods to avoid with heart disease :
There are certain foods that you should definitely avoid when you're having a heart attack.
These are foods that are high in fat, salt, cholesterol and trans fats, and should be avoided until you've had a chance to see your doctor and get the all-clear from your physician.
Fish – particularly oily fish, e.g. salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines
Many of the main dietary triggers for heart disease – high fat intake, high cholesterol, salt, and sugar – can also be a major risk factor for heart attacks. Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as oily fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and tuna, as well as oily fish eggs, such as herring, mackerel, and sardines. Limit your intake of canned fish, though, as they tend to have high levels of mercury.
Broccoli and cauliflower
The cruciferous vegetables are packed with phytochemicals that may be harmful to your heart. You should limit your intake of these cruciferous vegetables to twice a week. If you're cooking broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, steam rather than boil them, and add extra vinegar to your recipe.
Grains and rice
High intakes of refined grains and rice can be a major contributor to your high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes risk. Instead of white rice, have brown rice, quinoa, or buckwheat (einkorn) rice.
Incorporate plenty of fibre-rich vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale into your diet to help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Red wine
This goes without saying: it's in the Bible – but while it's nice to enjoy a drink in moderation, too much red wine is not good for your heart.
Women who drink red wine at least twice a week, or even more frequently, have twice the risk of developing heart disease as those who drink one glass or less.
Low-fat dairy
You've probably heard that eating a lot of fat is bad for your heart. But consuming too much fat is not the cause of heart disease, rather, it's what you replace it with.
You want to replace saturated fat with monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fat is the same as polyunsaturated fat in your diet. It's found in olive oil, avocados, sunflower seeds, nuts, and seeds.
Replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated fats can help lower your LDL cholesterol and improve your cardiovascular health.
Green tea
Some research has shown that green tea may help lower your risk of heart disease. But while it's certainly possible, no definitive studies have been conducted to back up this claim. If you enjoy a cup of green tea in the morning, go for it, but don't give it up completely just yet.
Except in rare cases, smoking is harmful to your heart. And, of course, not everyone who smokes has a heart attack, so the risk is highest in smokers. In many cases, smoking actually worsens your cardiovascular health.
Smoking causes heart disease, coronary heart disease, lung cancer, kidney disease and strokes.
If you want to reduce your risk of heart disease, quit smoking. Also, limit your alcohol intake – excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to increase your heart disease risk.
Clothes-munching and tight-fitting clothes
Excess belly fat can push your liver up to the abdominal area, which can cause your liver to become enlarged and put you at greater risk of developing fatty liver disease.
Your waist size can impact your risk of heart disease.
Seek the advice of a medical professional before altering your diet or the way you exercise in any way.
Eating too many saturated fats
If you want to be heart-healthy, you need to make sure you don't eat too much saturated fat. The link between saturated fats and heart disease is well-known, and this is true for most of the fat that you eat – from animal products such as beef, lamb and pork, as well as cheese, butter, and full-fat dairy.
However, eating foods like nuts, seeds, and avocados can help you lose weight and feel more energized.
Avoid trans fats.
Eat more fruits and vegetables to get the most nutrients from your food.
Limit your intake of dairy products to three servings or less a week.
Paleo diet
Many people think that the Paleo diet is bad for the heart because it's based on a diet that some have called the most restrictive, unhealthy diet of all time. However, the Paleo diet is not a diet at all, but a way of eating that can lead to healthy, long-lasting weight loss.
The Paleo diet uses protein and vegetables to replace the types of starches and foods that typically go into a person's meal. Meat, fish, eggs and nuts are some examples of protein that the Paleo diet emphasizes. A person eating a Paleo diet may choose some dairy products as a comfort food.
You can follow the Paleo diet as long as you consume enough calories. Some popular Paleo diet foods include meat, fish, eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, and vegetables.
Avoid grains, sugar, and legumes.
Know your cholesterol levels
The best way to prevent heart disease is to get your cholesterol levels checked regularly. When levels are high, it can mean a person has heart disease, so it's important to know what yours are so you can get it checked out if needed.
It's also important to be aware of your health risks for heart disease in other areas, like diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and obesity.
Know the warning signs of a heart attack.
If you have any symptoms of a heart attack, call your doctor right away and make an appointment for them to take an initial evaluation.
When you do have a heart attack, it's important to call 911 immediately. Notifying the emergency personnel of what's happening will help save your life and reduce medical costs.
Dr. Kelly Arps, a professor and chair of pulmonary and critical care at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that while high-fat foods and sodas often go hand in hand with heart disease, the importance of these heart-healthy foods cannot be overlooked.
“It's the sodium content that's really the main culprit,” she told CBS News.
Glycemic index, which is based on the sugar level and shape of the carbohydrates in a food, also can be a problem, she said. “High-glycemic index carbs can spike blood sugar more than regular carbs, and this can contribute to your risk of diabetes.”
“Bad fats” such as hydrogenated oils, margarine, butter and lard should be eaten sparingly, as these oils increase cholesterol levels and overall risk of heart disease, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
In general, “avoid eating things that have saturated fat,” said Arps.
Lard should be avoided if you're at high risk for heart disease, as lard is more unhealthy than other saturated fats, according to the AHA. “Saturated fats don't appear to raise the LDL (bad cholesterol) like other fats, so there's less risk of heart disease for those individuals,” it says.
Saturated fat is found in animal products, including red meat, butter and other types of meat. You should limit consumption of these foods, according to the AHA, especially for those who have heart disease risk factors.
Sodium should also be avoided, as it can increase the risk of high blood pressure, Arps said. When cutting back on sodium, look for low-sodium varieties of meat, she said, as well as reduced-sodium versions of the pasta, bread and other grains you typically eat.
Foods with a high glycemic index, including grains, bread, and pasta, can lead to a blood sugar spike, and trigger insulin production, according to the AHA. Eating foods with high glycemic index can increase your blood sugar more than a regular meal, which can lead to inflammation and increases your risk of heart disease.
Fruits and vegetables, which have low glycemic index, have a “lower insulin response and less damage to your cells,” she said. They are also low in calories and a good source of fiber.
Research shows that people who eat a healthy diet tend to weigh less, exercise more, have lower levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, and lower risks of obesity and cardiovascular disease, according to the AHA.
More about the heart
The exact cause of heart disease is unknown, but factors like a poor diet, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, high blood sugar, and the use of certain medications are all thought to contribute to the risk of heart disease.
“Foods that are low in saturated fat and high glycemic index,” said Arps.
For these reasons, she recommended keeping blood sugar levels under control. One strategy to control high blood sugar is eating a low glycemic index diet,” she said.
It's important to keep a food journal to check for trends over time, especially as you keep on making healthier lifestyle changes. “That way, if you start to feel like you're going up and down, you know whether it's because of changing your diet, or whether you're not getting enough physical activity, or whether you're not sleeping well. There are lots of reasons that one might feel like they're on an up or down trajectory,” Arps said.
And don't be intimidated by the number on the scale, she said. “If you can't see it, that doesn't mean you're not losing weight.””
Most foods are in some way related to heart health, according to Arps. “You have to really look at the nutrition label. You have to look at all the different components, and then you have to assess whether the number on the label is going up, or down,” she said.
If you don't see a change, “I'd definitely be a little bit more concerned,” she said. “But if you're seeing an improvement, you can be really, really proud of yourself.”
