Nutrition To Keep You ticking
Despite the gains in treatments such as by-pass surgery and stents over the past 20 years
, the best way to handle heart attack or stroke is by preventing it in the first place. Try these strategies;
Watch your waist
Get the fats right
Boost your omega 3s
Add more soluble fibre
Change to healthier ways of cooking
Watch your waist
Your heart has to pump harder if you are carrying excess weight. But researchers have discovered that excess fat around your waist - often jokingly called a 'beer gut' - is a real threat. Abdominal fat (measured by your waistline) is a better predictor of future health problems than just your weight or Body Mass Index (BMI).
A recent government campaign 'Measure Up' aims to highlight the importance of an expanding waistline by using a tape measure. The numbers to aim for are:
For women - a maximum waist measurement of 80cm maximum
(over 88cm puts you at much higher risk)
For men - a maximum waist measurement of 94cm
(over 102cm puts you at much higher risk).
For more details, go to www.measureup.gov.au
Get the fats right
Avoid trans fats and limit how much saturated fat you eat. Trans fats are hard to track down. If you spot them listed on a food label, anything less than 0.1% trans fat is fine e.g. most margarines are at this low level.
But usually they're not listed so you need to look along the ingredient list for 'partially hydrogenated vegetable fat'. You'll find them in things like doughnuts, supermarket cakes, chocolate spreads, hard cooking margarines, packet cake mixes, microwave popcorn, potato crisps (unless they tell you otherwise), fries, chips, wedges, nuggets, pies and sausage rolls.
Boost your omega 3s
According to the Heart Foundation adults should aim to consume around 500mg of omega-3 (marine source) every day. On some days you may consume more or less omega-3s than on other days, but aim to consume about 3500mg of EPA and DPA (marine source omega-3s) over the whole week. You can get this by either:
1.Eating 2 or 3 serves of oily fish a week (such as salmon, sardines, tuna or mackerel, either fresh, frozen or canned). Serve size is around 150g.
2.Taking fish oil capsules or liquid (1 or 2 capsules a day is a good alternative if you can't eat fish, in my opinion).
3.Buying omega-enriched products like the omega eggs, bread, spreads and milks.
Add more soluble fibre
Soluble fibre 'sweeps' cholesterol out of your system. The easiest way to eat more is to have rolled oats (porridge) for breakfast or a natural muesli. Alternatively you can sprinkle a tablespoon of psyllium husks or wheatgerm over your usual cereal.
Change to healthier ways of cooking
Don't fry meat. Grill, roast on a rack, steam, barbecue or microwave. Use a non-stick frying pan.
When stir-frying, drizzle in just enough oil to stop sticking or spray a film over the pan base, or stir-fry in stock.
Trim away all the fat from meat and take the skin off chicken.
Avoid sausages or salamis - high in saturated fats and salt.
Cook soups and curries a day ahead and chill. Fat sets and can be skimmed.
Replace half the meat in recipes with a can of chickpeas or red kidney beans.
Finally make an appointment with your doctor for a check-up and blood test of your cholesterol, triglycerides (another type of blood fat), blood pressure and blood glucose.
This is particularly important if your family has a history of heart complaints, or you're over 50.
by: Catherine Saxelby
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