Diet Heart Care

Three nutrition experts who have long focused on cardiovascular health have applied a food-based approach to a heart-healthy diet.

A new emphasis on foods rather than nutrients aims to simplify recommendations for healthy eating, making them easier to understand and put into action. A trio of nutrition experts have applied this food-based approach to a “cardioprotective diet.”

Focus on nutrients were tied to chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer, this research was eventually translated into public health messages to limit cholesterol, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium, and to get more calcium and fiber. The ideal cardio-protective diet remained elusive for decades because of the wide variation in the availability of food and cultural practices, science of nutrition has given clear guidelines to achieve substantial control of the cardiovascular, the wide variation in the availability of food and cultural practices.

Scientific research advances our understanding of health and disease, what happened to several decades of nutrition research that focused on individual nutrients like cholesterol, saturated fat, fiber, and antioxidants.

The researchers lay out the evidence from clinical trials and other studies for the benefits (and hazards) of various types of food.

The list below, the researchers lay out the evidence from clinical trials and other studies for the benefits (and hazards) of various types of food. Here are some of the ways foods affect health.

Fruits and vegetables - Provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of other nutrients. They are filling without delivering too many calories.

Whole grains - Deliver slowly digested carbohydrates along with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and more.

Fish and shellfish - Good sources of omega-3 fats and vitamin D. A good alternative to red meat as a protein source.

Nuts - Full of healthy fats, minerals, and protein.

Vegetable oils - Provide polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats needed by arteries, the brain, the immune system, and other parts of the body.

Dairy products - Good sources of calcium and vitamin D. Since dairy foods are naturally rich in saturated fat, low-fat choices are best. Calcium and vitamin D supplements are good alternatives.

Trans fats - Found in products made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, like stick margarine, many commercially prepared baked goods, and deep-fried foods. Trans fats elevate harmful LDL cholesterol, depress beneficial HDL, and increase inflammation.

Processed meats - Contain a lot of salt, saturated fat, and preservatives.

Sugary beverages and foods - Deliver rapidly digested carbohydrates and little else.