It's Topic Tuesday!

Welcome back, everyone! Though our healthcare system focuses on treating diseases when people show up to the doctor’s office or the hospital, the best way to treat any disease will always be trying to prevent patients from developing it in the first place. In the spirit of prevention, today we are going to talk about “heart-healthy” diets and how they can help prevent heart disease, the #1 cause of death in the United States. 

What is a heart-healthy diet?

“Heart-healthy diet” is a catch-all term for any diet that reduces someone’s long-term risk of developing heart disease. In general, heart-healthy diets focus on a couple of key practices:

1. Reducing cholesterol and intake of saturated fats - excess consumption of fatty foods can lead to high levels of cholesterol and fat, also called lipids, in the blood. Over time, these high levels of circulating lipids can cause blockages in the small arteries of your body, leading to serious complications like heart attacks or strokes. Regulating your intake of fatty foods can help lower your blood lipid levels, helping to prevent these poor outcomes.

2. Decreasing salt intake - Eating too much salt can cause one to have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, or worsen hypertension if someone already has it. Over time, people who consistently have elevated blood pressure accumulate damage in their arteries, which also increases the risk of developing the same blockages mentioned above. 

3. Decreasing sugar intake - Regulating your overall sugar intake reduces your risk of developing metabolic diseases like diabetes, which, in turn, increase your risk of heart disease. Having healthy blood sugar levels can also help balance your energy and mood throughout the day.

4. Increasing intake of healthy fats and fiber - Healthy fats, like polyunsaturated fats found in things like olive oil or yogurt, and fiber can help “wash out” the unhealthy fats hanging around your body and protect your arteries, reducing your risk of building up the blockages that cause heart disease and strokes. 

What are some examples of heart-healthy diets?

There are tons of options to choose from if you would like to start a heart-healthy diet. For example, the Mediterranean diet or the DASH diet are very popular options that many people benefit from. There are several resources online that you can use to start incorporating these diets into your daily life. 

These are some examples of what the Mediterranean diet can look like. Healthy doesn't necessarily mean not tasty! Credit: https://aladdinshouston.com/mediterranean-diet-food-list/

Where do I start?

Trying to change your diet can be overwhelming and very hard to maintain if not done thoughtfully. Remember, your body will always try to resist change, so small, consistent changes over time will give you much better and more sustainable results than trying to make major changes to your entire diet all at once. Start with whatever change is easiest for you to make, then go from there. For example, you could start by increasing the amount of vegetables you eat in a day. Once you’ve gotten used to that, you could decrease the amount of fried food you have in your diet. So on and so forth until you’re well on your way to a healthy diet and a healthy life!

That’s all for this week, folks. Thank you so much for joining me here! Hope to see you again next time! 

Signing off, 

Anirudh Karla