{"id":10232,"date":"2021-08-29T18:30:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T18:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ovadiahearthealth.com\/old-site\/?p=10232"},"modified":"2022-03-11T06:53:19","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T06:53:19","slug":"simple-rules-for-heart-healthy-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ovadiahearthealth.com\/old-site\/2021\/08\/29\/simple-rules-for-heart-healthy-eating\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Rules for Heart Healthy Eating"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you hear \u201cheart disease prevention\u201d you likely think about cholesterol, being a healthy weight, and medication like statins. Many people find it confusing, with so many restrictions and new stories in the news about the latest discovery that\u2019s been supposedly linked to heart disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is simpler than we\u2019ve been led to believe, and improving heart health isn\u2019t complicated.<\/span><\/p>\n

If heart disease prevention is important to you, I can tell you that your number one priority should be analyzing what you eat. The <\/span>food pyramid has failed us<\/span><\/a>, resulting in millions of Americans who believe they\u2019re eating the right foods but are actually putting them on the fast track to my operating table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Modern dietary advice tells us to avoid butter and eat vegetable oil. To avoid eggs and eat cereal.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not going to increase heart health!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We are surrounded by foods that lack nutritional density. This means we remain hungry after eating, and quickly over-consume. Before we know it, our pants don\u2019t fit and the scales are no longer our friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are what <\/span>Brian Keith calls \u201cNFOs\u201d<\/span><\/a> – or near food objects. Food created in factories by corporations is cheap and enjoyable, but by no means healthy – even if they do try to pretend otherwise by adding \u201cfortified with extra vitamins\u201d and \u201cproven to reduce cholesterol.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

My approach to food is simple and easy to remember: humans are supposed to eat things that grow in the ground, or which eat what grows in the ground. That means meat, eggs, vegetables, and so on. It doesn\u2019t include Oreos, cheese in a can, and microwave meals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Picking the right foods requires discipline when we\u2019re surrounded by colorful boxes of NFOs, so here are some simple rules for improving heart health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Curate your sources<\/b><\/h2>\n

Everywhere you turn, there\u2019s a semi-naked model selling a product. Often, these products are supplements with bold claims about packing on muscle and melting away fat.<\/span><\/p>\n

They belong in the trash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Improving heart health is about eating foods that actively contribute to our overall health, not looking for a powdered shortcut. But I\u2019ll admit, the marketing is good. We see men and women with chiseled abs, a shapely figure, and moving heavy weights in a gym and our mind tells us they\u2019re healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to look like that! If I drink that muscle-building, fat-melting supplement, I\u2019ll also develop buns of steel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There are two problems with this thinking:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Their physical attributes came from years of consistent training, and no supplement can ever replace that.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. A physique is no indicator of health.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It\u2019s possible to eat badly but still be strong and lean. I see many people get led astray because they take bad advice from people who look great but share bad advice.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This also applies to people who perform impressive feats. We assume that because someone can run a triathlon they must be healthy. The realty is that when people push their body to limits they often consume unhealthy foods to get extra calories or fast energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s take Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps as an example. <\/span>He ate 12,000 calories a day<\/span><\/a> – around six times more than the average adult needs to consume. His breakfast consisted of sugar-coated French toast, chocolate chip pancakes, and fried egg sandwiches with fried onions. Lunch included white bread and energy drinks. He\u2019d also eat an entire pizza and 2 pounds of pasta!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    His intense exercise schedule meant that he required extra energy and the 12,000 calories didn\u2019t make him fat, but pizza and energy drinks are still not health foods. As former Mr Olympia bodybuilder <\/span>Jay Cutler has said<\/span><\/a>, if he doesn\u2019t eat processed foods and sugars he can\u2019t eat enough to maintain his massive frame.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So step one is to identify your goal. If it\u2019s heart disease prevention and improving health, don\u2019t look at advanced athletes for dietary nutrition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Avoid processed foods<\/b><\/h2>\n

    This is sadly very difficult in our society. It\u2019s easy once you know what you\u2019re looking for but there can be a lot of misconceptions around what processed foods are.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Most people identify the obvious culprits – cookies, cakes, microwave meals. Eliminating those from your diet will certainly help with improving heart health.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Where people are often caught out is the staggering amount of food products that contain added sugar or vegetable oils. The cereal and granola that you buy as a healthy breakfast option are no exception to this. My advice is next time you\u2019re in the supermarket for your groceries, look at the labels on the foods you usually buy – you might be surprised at what\u2019s in them.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Oils and fats are a particular problem. The healthy options are extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, butter, lard, and tallow. Lower prices mean that other oils are used in processed foods instead, such as canola, sunflower, and other vegetable oils. Sadly, this is also true in many restaurants, so a healthy item from the menu can be cooked in oils that we should avoid. This isn\u2019t anything to worry about if you only occasionally eat at restaurants, but it can quickly add up if you frequently eat away from home.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Avoiding the following foods will put you ahead of the majority of people, and help you increase heart health:<\/span><\/p>\n