17 Heart-Healthy Recipes That Actually Taste Great (2024)
Approximately 71 million Americans (more than 20%) have high cholesterol. Your diet is very important if you're trying to lower yours. Follow these heart-healthy guidelines:
• Eat whole grains and beans. They're high in soluble fiber, which basically binds to the cholesterol you eat so that it passes out of your body instead of sticking around to clog up your arteries.
• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Some fruits and veggies contain lots of soluble fiber, while others contain more insoluble fiber (which is also good for you but doesn't affect cholesterol). Eat a variety of fruits and veggies so you get plenty of both kinds of fiber.
• Eat vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. The monounsaturated fats in these foods can lower your LDL cholesterol, aka bad cholesterol. Walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds are all good choices.
• Eat fatty fish, nuts, and avocado. "Omega-3 fatty acids may help raise HDL cholesterol, which is your good cholesterol," says Keri Gans, a New York-based registered dietitian and the author of The Small Change Diet. Salmon is great for Omega-3s, but so are lots of other fish like trout, mackerel, and sardines.
• Limit fatty animal products, such as whole milk, processed meats, and high-fat cuts of red meat. Saturated fat, present in all those foods, has long been considered a major threat to heart health because it can raise the amount of cholesterol in your blood. Recent research questions that wisdom, but Gans says she still follows American Heart Association guidelines. "I still advise my patients to limit saturated fats," she told BuzzFeed. Play it safe by keeping plenty of variety in your diet and not relying solely on animal-based foods for your protein.
2.Apple and Chicken Egg White Omelet
3.Curry Roasted Vegetable and Avocado Naan-Wich
4.Black Bean and Corn Burger
6.Thai Chicken Crunch Wraps
7.Farro Salad with Oven-Roasted Grapes and Autumn Greens
8.Honey Mustard Salmon with Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
9.Trout Salad with Citrus and Radishes
10.Lentil and Bulgur Soup
11.Almond-Crusted Chicken Strips
12.Roasted Vegetable Salad with Garlic Dressing + Toasted Pepitas
13.Curry Tofu Tacos with Pintos & Kale Slaw
14.Curried Quinoa with Spinach and Almonds
16.Italian Orzo Spinach Soup
17.Dark Chocolate Brown Rice Pudding
Focusing on specific foods to control your cholesterol is smart, but it's not everything. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly are also important, Gans says. And everyone's different, so speak to your doctor about what's best for you.
Fruit. Mieres' mid-afternoon snack is always fruit, such as an apple, a pear or cherries — “something with fiber,” she says. Fiber has been shown to help protect against heart disease, the American Heart Association notes. It's also filling, which helps combat hunger and overeating.
Choose foods that have a lot of nutrition in a small amount of food, such as Carnation Instant Breakfast®. Some good protein foods are fish, skinless poultry, Greek yogurt, soy, beans and nuts. Once you begin feeling hungry again you should follow a heart-healthy diet.
Choose foods that are low in salt, such as fresh meats, poultry, fish, dry and fresh legumes, eggs, milk and yogurt. Plain rice, pasta and oatmeal are good low-sodium choices. However, the sodium content can increase if salt or other high-sodium ingredients are added during their preparation.
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet sets strict limits on foods you can eat during specific meals. Meals generally consist of a protein source paired with fruits, vegetables, toast, or saltine crackers. Salt and pepper are the only permitted spices. For dessert, vanilla ice cream is allowed once per day during dinner.
Eating certain foods may help prevent clogged arteries and lower your risk of heart disease. Some examples include berries, beans, tomatoes, fish, oats, and leafy greens. Atherosclerosis occurs when fatty deposits accumulate along artery walls.
In general, red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) have more saturated fat than skinless chicken, fish and plant proteins. Saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. If you eat poultry, pork, beef or other meats, choose lean meat, skinless poultry, and unprocessed forms.
Is pasta on a heart healthy diet? Whole grain pasta is heart-healthy. Research has shown that consuming whole grains, including whole wheat pasta, can help to prevent heart disease. Even better, tomatoes are also considered to be heart-healthy.
As long as they're not deep-fried, potatoes can be good for your heart. They're rich in potassium, which can help lower blood pressure, and they're high in fiber, which can lower the risk for heart disease. "They are definitely not a junk food or refined carbohydrate," said Graf.
Eating potassium-rich sweet potatoes helps promote a healthy heart. Higher potassium intake allows you to excrete more sodium lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease according to the American Heart Association.
Limit your use of marinades, sauces, rubs and anything mixed in any way. Avoid pastas, soups, omelets, breads and salads. The concern with salads is that the dressing tends to be very high in sodium, as are many of the added ingredients. Use herbs and spices to flavor your foods.
“Eggs are fine, but limit the total amount to one per day, averaged over a week, without going into extreme excess in one day.” In this article, Dr. Natarajan shares more about the latest research on eggs and cholesterol and how to incorporate eggs into a heart-healthy diet.
anaemia (a condition where the blood doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells) too much salt, fluid, or alcohol in your diet. pregnancy. some viral and bacterial infections.
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