February is American Heart Health Month, so we are looking at lifestyle changes you can make to be more heart healthy.
Today we are focusing on healthy dietary choices to be more heart healthy. A diet moderate in fat can help keep your heart healthy. Yesterday we discussed the importance of the types of dietary fat you choose. For more on saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats, check on this post on dietary fats and heart health.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is found in foods with a liver. Common sources of cholesterol in the typical American diet include animal proteins (beef, chicken, etc), eggs, and full fat dairy products.
The Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting cholesterol to < 300 milligrams per day for a healthy person without heart disease; the recommendation is stricter, <200 milligrams cholesterol per day, for individuals with high blood cholesterol levels or a history of heart disease.
Did you know that a whole egg has almost 200 milligrams of cholesterol? A large egg white has no cholesterol! Recent research has shown that dietary intake of saturated fat and trans fat has a bigger influence on your blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol intake.
If you have high blood cholesterol levels, there are simple dietary choices you can make to lower your cholesterol levels. You can replace foods high in saturated or trans fat with foods containing PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) to help lower your blood cholesterol levels.
Blood Cholesterol Goals (milligrams/deciliter)
Total Cholesterol < 200
Triglycerides < 150
LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol <100
HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol > or = 60
What affects blood cholesterol?
Blood cholesterol levels are affected by genetics. Blood cholesterol levels are also influences by the amount and type of dietary fats consume. Saturated fats and trans fats have been shown to raise blood cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol. But intake of dietary cholesterol does matter and can affect blood cholesterol.
Diet and physical activity choices are modifiable risk factors for heart disease. Lifestyle choices, like being physically active, affect your blood cholesterol levels. Increasing physical activity can raise HDL or good cholesterol levels. A high HDL has a negative association with heart disease. Eating a healthy diet and replacing food sources high in saturated or trans fat with food choices with PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) can lower your LDL. You have control over your diet and lifestyle choices. And, you can lower your risk of heart disease by making healthy diet choices and increasing your physical activity level.
If you have a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart attack (myocardial infarctions), please check in with your doctor to get a physical. Tell your doctor your family history of heart disease, your concerns for your health, and ask about what screening you should do. Please talk to your personal RD or MD before starting a new diet or physical activity regimen.
We will continue to go through each of the dietary and lifestyle topics this week to discover how you can be heart healthy. Tomorrow we are discussing fiber and heart health. Stay tuned.
So, how can you be heart healthy?
- Eat a Healthy Diet
- Be Physically Active
- Check in with Your Doctor
For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter . You can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.
February is American Heart Health Month, so we are looking at lifestyle changes you can make to be more heart healthy.
So, how can you be heart healthy?
- Eat a Healthy Diet
- Be Physically Active
- Check in with Your Doctor
Today, we are focusing on healthy dietary choices to be more heart healthy. A diet moderate in fat can help keep your heart healthy. We need fats for energy, cushioning of vital organs, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and much more. But, the types of fat you choose are important. Today, we are discussing the four types of fats: saturated fats, trans fat, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). Saturated fats and trans fats are usually lumped together as "bad fats" and PUFA and MUFA are usually lumped together as "good fats." But lets look at each type of fat in a little more in depth.
Types of fat
1) MUFA
Dietary Reference Intake encourage linolenic acid, which is an essential MUFA in the omega-3 family, to 5-10% of total calories. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Some examples of foods high in linolenic acid are: nuts & seeds (flaxseeds, walnuts, soybeans), vegetables (soybeans), and oils (canola, flaxseed, soybean, walnut, and wheat germ).
2) PUFA
Dietary Reference Intake encourage linoleic acid, which is an essential PUFA in the omega-6 family, to 0.6-1.2% of total calories. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Some examples of foods high in linoleic acid are: nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils(corn, safflower, sesame, soybean, and sunflower).
3) Saturated fat
Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. The name 'saturated fat' comes from the chemical structure of these fats which are 'saturated' with hydrogen atoms.The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to <7% of total energy. The Dietary Reference Intakes recommend limiting straight fat to <10% of calories within a healthy diet. the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 (DGA 2010) recommend limiting solid fats like milk fats, high-fat meats and cheeses, hard margarine, butter, lard, and shortening. DGA 2010 recommends limiting saturated fats to 10% of calories and replacing foods high in saturated fats with foods high in MUFA and PUFA.
4) Trans fat
The American Heart Association recommends limiting trans fats in your diet to <1% of total energy intake. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 encourages you to keep trans fat intake as low as possible by limiting foods that are synthetic sources of trans fats. For example, you can limit your trans fats by limiting your consumption of partially hydrogenated oils.
I hope this information was helpful to increase your knowledge of the types of fats and recommendations for consumption. Some disease states require higher or lower fat consumption. Please check with your RD or MD before starting a new diet. If you have a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart attack (myocardial infarctions), please check in with your doctor to get a physical. Tell your doctor your family history of heart disease, your concerns for your health, and ask about what screening you should do.
We will go through each of the dietary and lifestyle topics this week to look more in depth on how you can be heart healthy. Tomorrow we are discussing cholesterol and heart health. Stay tuned.
For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter . You can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.
