What you eat - and the way you cook your food - has a big effect on your heart.
If you eat a typical British diet of lots of fast food, pies, meat and dairy products you're putting yourself at risk. Most of these contain saturated fats which increase cholesterol levels in the blood.
It's particularly important to cut down on saturated fats as these increase blood cholesterol. This blood cholesterol attaches to the artery walls causing them to 'fur up' - increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.
Aim for a healthy, balanced diet - which means eating more bread (preferably wholemeal), high fibre breakfast cereals, potatoes, pasta, rice, nuts, oily fish like mackerel and sardines, and fruit and vegetables.
Here are some simple tips to help you eat more healthily:
To keep your heart healthy Heart of Mersey (HoM) advises the following:
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Choose low or reduced-fat spreads (preferably high in mono or polyunsaturates)
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Use skimmed milk
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Use low-fat yoghurt or low-fat fromage frais instead of cream
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Snack on fresh or dried fruit or nuts and cut down on crisps, chocolates, cakes, pastries and biscuits
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Trim the fat from meat before you cook it
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Include cereals, wholemeal bread, potatoes (not fried), rice & pasta in your diet. These should make up around a third of your diet.
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Eat at least 5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day (fresh, frozen, dried, 100% pure fruit juice and tinned variations all count)
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Grill rather than fry your food
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Go for lean meat products such as chicken or fish or try substituting meat for pulses, beans or vegetables. These taste great in casseroles and grilled kebabs
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Try to eat oily fish such as pilchards and sardines at least twice a week
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Try half-fat hard cheese or cottage cheese
In addition, most of us eat much more salt than we need. On average our intake needs to be reduced by about a third.
- Try not to use salt when cooking. Flavour foods with lemon juice, herbs, spices or vinegar instead.
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Cut down on salty snack foods like crisps and salted nuts.
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When buying tinned produce choose the ones marked 'no added salt'.
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Salt is also called sodium or sodium chloride on food labels and can be bad for your health.
- Cut down on salted meats such as bacon and gammon.
For more information on eating healthily visit:
