Dietary tips and a meal plan to prevent heart disease

 Dietary tips and a meal plan to prevent heart disease

Want to reduce your cardiovascular disease risk? Dietary and lifestyle modifications can be used to protect the cardiovascular system in a number of straightforward ways. Here's a meal plan that's good for your heart.

The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body because it carries pumped blood to ensure the body's supply of oxygen and nutrients. Heart-healthy eating and regular exercise or physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of developing heart disease or stroke. According to health experts, a heart-healthy diet can also reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease and prevent us from gaining excess weight, thereby lowering the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr. Varun Gupta, Medical Advisor at Nutrabooti, echoed, "Your heart is one of the most complex and, arguably, the most important organ in your body. It works nonstop to supply your body with oxygenated blood." There are numerous simple ways to protect your cardiovascular system through dietary and lifestyle changes if you wish to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. He suggested:

1. Quit smoking: Smoking considerably raises the risk of coronary heart disease and can exacerbate the symptoms of heart disease. If you smoke, you should consider stopping.

2. Consume more fiber-rich plant meals: A high-fiber diet helps reduce "bad" cholesterol levels and supply nutrients that support cardiovascular health. Add high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains to your diet for a healthy heart.

3. Reduce your sitting time and increase your activity level: Inactivity can occasionally lead to the accumulation of fatty deposits in the arteries, which can raise the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Therefore, you should always strive to sit less and exercise more, if possible, by taking regular walks or enjoying outdoor games that you enjoy.

4. Choose healthier fats: Adding healthy fats to your diet can reduce your risk of heart disease and improve your blood cholesterol levels. Try to incorporate salmon, trout, or herring, flaxseed, kale, spinach, or walnuts into your diet.

5. Manage stress: Chronic stress or continual stress over an extended period of time has numerous detrimental effects on the body and may contribute to long-term heart problems. Learning to control or alleviate stress whenever feasible is an intelligent method to safeguard the cardiovascular system.

Dr. Deeksha Katiyar, Consulting Physician at WeClinicTM Homeopathy, stated that the following foods can be incorporated into a heart-healthy diet:

• Leafy green vegetables

• Whole Grains

• Avocados

• Fish oil

• Walnuts

• Beans

• Tomatoes

• Almonds

• Seeds

• Garlic

• Olive oil

• Green tea

She revealed a 'heart-healthy' diet plan that you can follow to maximise the benefits to your heart:

• Early Morning (5 am to 6 am)

Take five to six almonds and walnuts with a glass of warm water.

Breakfast

• (7 am to 8 am)

Poha, boiling moong, upma, dosa, dhokla, paratha, etc. prepared from scratch. Utilize minimal oil when cooking. Take a glass of milk, yoghurt, or a protein-rich snack like a hard-boiled egg.

• Lunch (10 am to 11 am)

Eat two to three chapatis without ghee, a medium bowl of rice, a cup of vegetable curry, a medium bowl of yogurt, and a large salad. Non-vegetarians may substitute chicken or fish for the dal.

• Evening (4 pm to 5 pm)

A bowl of fruit or soup. You may also enjoy a cup of green tea or coffee with your bhel/chaat/khakhra.

• Dinner (8 pm to 9 pm)

2 chapatis made from  multigrains or 2 jowar/bajra bhakris served with a bowl of vegetable curry, a plate of salad, and a bowl of dal or yoghurt. One could also consume a dish of khichdi or kadhi rice.

She suggested that adopting the following healthy lifestyle choices can assist in maintaining heart health:

• a healthy lifestyle with daily exercise

• Maintain a healthy body weight

• Avoid smoking and drinking

• Manage your stress

• Get adequate sleep every day

• Do regular check-up

• Take care of Diabetes, Cholesterol, and Blood Pressure

In addition to the aforementioned tips, there are numerous more strategies to care for your heart, such as getting adequate sleep and minimising your alcohol intake.