In addition
to lifestyle factors like exercising and not smoking, eating a healthy diet is
one of the best ways to reduce your risk of heart disease. That's because
inflammation, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and cholesterol are
impacted by what goes into your body.
High fiber,
healthy fats, and antioxidants have been shown to help the heart. Conversely,
high intakes of added sugar and processed meats are of risk to the
cardiovascular health.
Heart health
is a significant reason for practicing a healthful regimen. Some of today's
diet plans claim to support heart health, but it's essential to conclude that
one is supported by scientific evidence and can be adhered to long term.
Here are the
6 best diets for those attempting to avoid heart disease.
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1.The Mediterranean diet
The
Mediterranean diet corresponds to the traditional eating habits of people in
Greece and Southern Italy from the 1960s.
In general,
people tend to eat foods with whole, minimally processed foods, including whole
grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, and extra virgin olive
oil. Additionally, they consume moderate amounts of poultry, eggs, low fat
dairy, and red wine.
It limits or
eliminates added sugars, refined carbs, overly processed snacks, and red and
processed meats.
Numerous
studies have tied the Mediterranean diet to a decreased risk of cardiovascular
disease, among other heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol and
triglyceride levels, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
A single
review of 11 studies found that following a Mediterranean diet decreased
overall heart disease risk and mortality by 40%.
People in the
US usually endorse this diet for the inherent health benefits it presents.
Opponents criticized the diet for its cursory approach to plant foods, with
critics asserting that the benefits of whole foods are nearly immeasurable.
For example,
olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and compounds that have strong
antioxidant properties and have anti-inflammatory properties.
A review of
32 studies found that a higher intake of this form of oil — but not other
monounsaturated fats — was tied to a lower risk of death from all causes, heart
disease, and stroke.
Other
factors, such as engaging in physical activity and eating less added sugars may
also contribute to the diet's positive effects.
2.The DASH Diet
DASH stands
for Dietary Approaches for the Management of High Blood Pressure and was
created to help promote successful treatments for high blood pressure, or
hypertension. In turn, it can decrease your risk of heart disease.
The
Mediterranean diet doesn't restrict food choices like the DASH diet does.
Instead of
making specific recommendations regarding what sort of food you should consume,
this menu recommends various amounts of food groups depending on how many
calories you need each day, emphasizing whole grains, fruits, fresh vegetables,
low-fat dairy, and lean meat while limiting the amounts of red meat, processed
grains, and added sugars you consume.
According to
the FDA, medical professionals suggest limiting sodium intake to no more than 1
teaspoon of salt per day — and for a lower salt option, no more than 3/4
teaspoon of salt is sufficient.
Decreasing
salt intake in those with high blood pressure has been found to be extremely
beneficial to blood pressure, especially when combined with the DASH diet.
However,
research indicates that this blood pressure effect appears less significant
among people with physiological blood pressure levels.
The diet's focus
on increasing fiber consumption, such as with whole grains and fruits and
vegetables, as well as lowering the intake of sugar and saturated fats may also
result in its heart-health effects.
Indeed,
studies show that the DASH diet can help reduce heart disease risk factors,
such as blood pressure, obesity, waist circumference, cholesterol levels, and
insulin resistance.
A review of
studies encompassing the DASH diet found a twenty-percent decrease in heart
disease risk, 19 percent decrease in stroke risk, and 18 percent decrease in
the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
3.Vegan and vegetarian diets
Vegan and
vegetarian eating habits stop a complete reliance on meat, including poultry,
red meat, and fish.
Some
vegetarians also include eggs and dairy products in their diets, while vegans
strictly avoid all animal-derived products, including dairy products, eggs, bee
pollen, honey, and gelatin.
These diets
encourage fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, soy products, whole grains, nuts,
seeds, and plant-based oils and fats.
Plant-based
dietary choices provide lucrative nutritional advantages to vegan and
vegetarian diets. For one, these diets are usually very high in fiber,
antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds, all of which aid cardiovascular
health.
Regularly
consuming whole soy products like tofu is linked to heart health benefits. In a
meta-analysis of 46 studies, soy protein intake was shown to be an extremely
useful method to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol
levels.
Moreover, a
meta-analysis comprising over 200,000 people demonstrated that a regular intake
of tofu and isoflavones — antioxidants in soy — was linked with a moderately
reduced risk of heart disease.
Several other
studies have suggested that a vegetarian diet or a vegan diet can reduce heart
disease risk factors such as high cholesterol, blood pressure, weight problems,
and uncontrolled blood sugar levels.
Studies have
confirmed that not only are those who adhere to vegan or vegetarian diets less
prone to heart disease and premature death, but they also have a higher
adherence to these practices to begin with.
Regardless of
what kind of diet you choose, you must still be conscious of complete
nutrients. Vegan and vegetarian diets with high sugar, refined grains, and
heavily processed foods have poor health benefits; on the contrary, those that
emphasize plant foods are healthier.
4.The Flexitarian Diet
Food blog
writer Dawn Blatner developed this dietary plan, which uses plant-focused foods
in moderate amounts, encouraging a complete spectrum diet. You are encouraged
to eat most of the protein you consume from them.
There's no
customary rule for how much or how often you should eat animal products, so it
is dependent upon your personal preferences.
Whole foods
are recommended to eat, foods with minimal additives and sugar are suggested to
avoid, and salt and other refined grains should be avoided or limited.
Conducting
studies revealed a connection between increased adherence to plant-based diets
and a reduced risk of heart disease.
Fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and legumes — which the diet encourages — have been
tied to improvements in heart disease risk factors.
On a strict
vegan or vegetarian diet, the Flexitarian Diet may be a more sensible choice
for those who would enjoy the heart benefits of a plant-based diet without
having to give up meat and other items.
5.The TLC diet
The
Therapeutic Lifestyle Choices (TLC) diet was created by the United States
National Institute of Health (NIH) to prevent and reduce the likelihood of
heart disease and stroke.
Cholesterol,
blood pressure, and body fat levels are all things that can be monitored to
promote optimal conditions on your cholesterol and weight.
·
At
least half an hour of moderate-intensity exercise is needed each day.
·
Aimed
at getting 25–35% of your daily calories from fat.
·
The
limit on saturated fat is to establishing no more than 7% of your daily caloric
intake as your goal.
·
Limiting
one's cholesterol intake to no more than 200 mg per day.
·
Getting
in 10 to 25 grams of soluble fiber a day.
·
At
least 2 grams of phytosterols or stanols are processed by your body each day.
·
Only
taking the proper amount of calories to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
A number of
studies confirm that a higher carbohydrate intake decreases LDL cholesterol
[the bad cholesterol]. Particularly, a study of 32 days in length performed in
36 adults revealed a decrease in LDL cholesterol by 11% upon adopting the TLC
diet.
Eating
soluble fiber is advised for the improvement of one's diet. Foods like oats,
nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and fruits and vegetables contain soluble fiber.
Intake of
high dietary fiber has been shown to reduce heart disease risk, and soluble
dietary fiber in particular has been shown to reduce total and LDL cholesterol.
TLC diet
also suggests taking in plant stanols or sterols, which are naturally occurring
compounds in fresh foods like meat, vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and
seeds.
Research
suggests that consuming 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols per day, as the
dietary plan recommends, can aide in reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol by 8–10%.
A strength
of the TLC diet is that it calls for individuals to engage in at least 30
minutes of moderate workout daily.
It really is
valuable to follow through with physical activity, as research shows that exercise
can enhance heart health and avoid illness. One review reports that physical
inactivity may contribute to as much as six% of heart disease cases worldwide.
6. Low carb diets
Low
carbohydrate diets not only limit your carb intake but are also typically
higher in protein and/or fat than the typically Western diet. They limit foods
like breads, grains, pasta, potatoes, and sugar-laden snacks and beverages.
Carbohydrates
can be restricted, depending on the recommended diet, to ten to forty percent
of the calories consumed.
Research
shows that low carb diets may improve heart health, decreasing chances of
developing heart disease, such as overweight, obesity, and high triglycerides
and blood pressure levels, as well as raising HDL cholesterol.
One review
reported a decreased ratio of LDL (bad) cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol
among low carb eaters, implying that such diets can improve a tendency toward
bad cholesterol levels.
It’s
important to note that these findings are promising, but more research is
necessary.
Also, not
all low carb diets are necessarily healthy for the body. Several observational
studies have revealed higher risk of heart disease and related death in
individuals adhering to these diets.
Yet,
previous research that considered diet quality found a correlation between low
carb diets rich in plants and protein and fat with a lower risk of death from heart
disease and all causes, whereas those high in animal products and fat, were
found to be associated with an increased risk.
For this
reason, eating well will be your main priority. In particular, low-fat diets
should be high on plant-food fibers like vegetables and low in processed
vegetable oils, avocado, nuts and seeds.
How to choose a heart-healthy diet
When
planning a diet that is healthy for your heart, do your research on the
nutritional quality of your food choices, the scientific evidence behind them,
how easy they are to follow, and your ability to sustain the diet over a
reasonable period of time.
While more
research is needed on the role individual nutrients play regarding
cardiovascular events, research indicates that diets rich in whole foods,
especially plant-based ones, can lower the risk for heart disease.
Healthy
foods often include a mix of various whole foods and slow-growing or refined
alternatives. Most experts agree that it's the composition of fat, not the
amount, which makes the biggest difference in regards to heart health.
A few types
of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may be good for heart health, while
trans fats have been shown to increase bad cholesterol and bad cholesterol,
decrease good cholesterol, and worsen inflammation.
Researchers
are unsure about the causes of saturated fats, but the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) recommends limiting consumption of those to no more than 10%
of your daily calories.
The ideal
method to prevent heart disease involves many factors associated with your
lifestyle.
Before
beginning on any diet, it’s a good idea to consult your physician to confirm it
is the appropriate choice for you.
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