Diet for your healthy heart

Heart disease is major cause of death ranked in Thailand next below accident and cancer. Actually, heart disease can be prevented if we take care of our own health, not spoil ourselves. The main objective for diet watch heart disease prevention is to decrease bad fat that harm your body, LDL Triglyceride and to increase good fat, HDL. The salty dishes that can make your blood pressure level higher must also be avoided.

Fat in food

Bad fat to your body

Bad fat to your body are saturated fatty acids and Trans-fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids are found mostly in food cooked from animal fat such as pork oil, coconut cream rice with chicken, rice with pork leg, palm oil or coconut oil, fried food should be avoided.

Trans-fatty acid is bad to your heart and it is the cause of cancer. It is made by adding hydrogen to polyunsaturated fatty acids to prevent rancid smell and turn into solid form. If we have high consumption of Trans-fatty acid, risk to heart disease increases 53%.

Most of food contained this type of fat are bakery such as bread, cookie, cake and margarine. Be careful when buying food with label printed “ Partially hydrogenated ”, even it is printed “ low cholesterol ”, it might have Trans-fatty acid which is bad for your body same as Saturated fatty acids.

Good fat to your body

Please remember that some fat is essential to your body and good to your health especially for children’s growth. Scientists are interested in fat whether it is good or bad to your health which are; Mono Unsaturated Fat and Poly Unsaturated Fat. The studies from research have been found that having food containing 3 types of Omega is good to your health as details following;

• Omega-3 contains 2 types of fat

1. Alpha-linolenic acid found mostly in fat from soybean, sunflower seed, safflower oil and canola oil.
2. Docosahexaenoic and Eicosapentaneoic acids found in fish and milk.From the studies, fat from plant contains alpha-linolenic acid can reduce triglyceride and protect us from heart disease.

• Omega-6 found mostly in corn oil, safflower oil and canola oil.
• Omega-9 fatty acids found mostly in olive oil.

Substituted fat

Foreign countries have created substituted fat for consumption in order to decrease fat and energy from fat which are;

• Olestra ( Olean ) is synthetic fat from plant. It is unabsorbed so it will pass through our intestine. Its defect is just having stomachache and a bowel movement. The important thing is lacking of vitamin and antioxidant and can prevent cancer.
• Sterols are made from plant. It is mixed with canola oil which can decrease LDL 24%. However, you should decrease fat from food instead of having substituted fats.

Flour food

Poly Carbohydrate food and fiber are good to your heart and coronary artery.

Vegetables and Fruits

Regularly having vegetables and fruits can decrease risk to heart disease and brain coronary disease. In vegetables and fruits contain flavonoids, sterols, phenol and suffer-containing compounds of antioxidant that can decrease cholesterol level. They are good to your heart and cancer prevention.

Cereals and fiber

Fiber consumption can decrease fat level 13% by matching with bile acids. This can also decrease sugar level. Fiber is found most in vegetables and fruits. To prevent from having gas indigestion, please take fiber and drink lot of water. If you eat low level fiber food, you can take constipated pill that contain psyllium.

Protein

Fish

Form the studying useful of fish, we have founded that fish can decrease fatal from heart attack, decrease triglyceride level, protect nerve system, rheumatoid, asthma and some type of cancer. High fat level fish are Salmon, Hair tail, Tuna. In order to get the maximized useful from fish, we recommend to have fish 1-2 portions/ week.

Meat

Chicken or duck skin must be peeled off before eating. Pork choose to eat the inside spine part or hips. Cow meat is not recommended.

Soybean

Has very high nutritional value due to its compound of fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids and substances essential to your body. In soybean also contains substances that can decrease fat and have antioxidant. Person who consumes soybean will have low level of LDL, Triglyceride and high level of HDL. We recommend having soybean 25 gram/ day ( soybean milk 1 glass contains soybean 13 grams ).

Alcohol beverage and coffee

Advantage of alcohol is HDL increment that can prevent more from heart disease. Consult with your doctor before drinking alcohol and always be aware that alcohol drink causes cancer. Coffee will take away your calcium which is important mineral to your bone and heart. Moreover, some type of coffee increases cholesterol level. You should drink tea instead of coffee as tea has flavonoid that can prevent heart disease.