Routes to a healthy heart:
Eat healthy to be healthy

Nine simple ways to reduce your risk of another heart attack: Eat a healthy diet Take more exercise Loose excess weight Stop smoking Drink less alcohol Reduce high blood pressure Reduce high cholesterol levels If diabetic, maintain good control of blood glucose levels Keep taking your prescribed medication

Your diet is one of the most powerful factors affecting your chance of having another heart attack. An unhealthy diet can lead to overweight and obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. All these things are known to increase the risk of heart attack.

Six steps to a healthier diet:

1. Reduce your total intake of fatty foods.
2. Replace some of the foods in your diet that contain saturated fats (e.g. red meat and butter) with those containing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (e.g. chicken and olive oil).
3. Reduce your intake of salt.
4. Eat more fruit and vegetables.
5. Include more fibre in your diet.
6. Reduce your intake of alcohol.

Remember: make sure you take your prescribed medication as directed by your physician.

 

Tips for a healthy-heart diet

• Eat five portions of fruit and/or vegetables every day. Have a piece of fruit or two as a snack, or add vegetables to stir-fried dishes or stews. Raw vegetables make good snacks.
• Eat more starchy carbohydrates such as bread, cereal and starchy vegetables. Aim for up to six portions a day (one portion = one slice of bread or a small potato). For example, have cold cereal with non- or low-fat milk, or add cooked kidney beans or sweetcorn to salads or casseroles.
• Eat fish at least twice a week, particularly fatty fish (e.g. herring and mackerel).
• Eat fat-free and low-fat milk products, legumes (beans), skinless poultry and lean meats.
• Choose fats and oils with 2 grams or less saturated fat per tablespoon, such as low-fat margarines, and olive, safflower or soya bean oils.
• Cut down on foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients. This includes foods with a lot of added sugar, such as soft drinks and cakes.
• Cut down on foods that contain a lot of saturated fat and/or cholesterol, such as full-fat milk products, fatty meats, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and egg yolks.
• Eat less than 6 grams of salt (sodium chloride) per day. That’s equal to about one level teaspoon of salt. Avoid processed foods or foods with added salt. Use salt alternatives sparingly.
• If you drink alcohol, try to have no more than one drink per day.

Use this table to keep a record of your weekly food intake:

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Portions of fruit or vegetables eaten today
Portions of starchy carbohydrates eaten today
Portions of fish or chicken eaten today