6 Slimming Tips For A Healthy Heart

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• Be fry-free
• Be sat-fat-savvy
• Be fibre-wise
• Be carb-conscious
• Be label-literate
• Be coffee-careful

Be fry-free

Next time you’re about to gulp down a serving of fries, picture this: All the fat in those fries is going to congeal into one solid greasy lump which travels through your body into your blood vessels and comes to rest along your artery walls. Still want fries with that?

This image is not exactly text-book, but essentially it’s what happens when you overload on saturated fat. Your body reacts by making more cholesterol than it needs, and the surplus ends up in your blood, clogging up your arteries and preventing blood flow, and may eventually lead to a heart attack.

Burgers, hot dogs, fries and most other fast-foods are high in saturated fat, so try to avoid them. Don’t be fooled by words like “flame-grilled” either – that doesn't translate to low-fat or low-cholesterol.

Be sat-fat-savvy

As well as avoiding fried and take-away foods, there are several other ways to reduce saturated fat intake. Allan Borushek, (the Calorie King!), offers these tips:

• When it comes to dairy products, choose low-fat or skim milk, yoghurt, cheese, and ice cream.
• Avoid adding cream to desserts.
• Choose lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry, and avoid processed meats and sausages.
• Enjoy fish instead; fish is also an excellent source of omega-3 fat, which is good for cholesterol levels.
• Cook with vegetable oils such as canola, olive, sunflower and rice bran instead of butter or margarine.
• Be careful to limit cakes, pastries and biscuits, as most of these are high in fat and contain hydrogenated vegetable fats. (Hydrogenated vegetable fats are a form of trans fat which also raise LDL cholesterol levels and increase your risk for heart disease).

Be fibre-wise

Increasing the amount of soluble fibre in your diet is a great way to improve cholesterol levels. Fibre helps to clean out your body’s digestive system, and in doing so it pushes LDL (bad) cholesterol through the blood stream and eventually out of the body – it’s like an exfoliating scrub for your insides!

Foods rich in soluble fibre include dried beans, baked beans, lentils, chick peas, hummus, nuts, and seeds. Oat bran, rice bran, and barley are also a good source of fibre, as are fruits and vegetables.

Be carb-conscious

Fruits and vegetables are full of good carbs that can help to lower your LDL cholesterol levels. Foods rich in healthy carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables and whole grains are also naturally low in calories. By consuming more of these foods you will eat less high-fat, high-cholesterol foods. These same foods are also high in fibre, which also lowers LDL cholesterol. Fruits and vegetables also contain vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene and antioxidants, which help prevent cholesterol from moving out of the blood stream and into the lining of the blood vessels.

Allan Borushek also recommends eating portion-controlled amounts of avocados. The fat in avocados, though high, is mainly monounsaturated and can help to lower blood cholesterol levels.

Be label-literate

The best way to make sure you steer clear of foods high in saturated fat and dietary cholesterol is to read food labels or source information from the CalorieKing food database on the calorie, fat, fibre and carbohydrate content of foods you eat.

Make label reading such a habit that you always check before you eat – that way, not a milligram of cholesterol or saturated fat will escape your attention!

Be coffee-careful

Several studies have now shown that drinking too much coffee can cause a rise in LDL cholesterol levels, particularly in people who have a predisposition to high blood-cholesterol. If you drink six cups or more a day of unfiltered coffee, it’s likely to significantly increase your cholesterol levels. However, if your java-jolt is drip-filtered, you can keep sipping; the studies showed that filtered coffee causes only a tiny increase in LDL compared with espresso or percolated coffee.

Allan Borushek suggests drinking tea instead. “Tea contains antioxidants that may protect the cholesterol in the blood oxidising,” he explains.

Related articles :

• Big Fat Hints for Low-Fat Eating
• Exercise for a Healthy Heart
• Good Fats, Bad Fats: Get with the (blood) flow
• The CalorieKing Fat Guide
• The CalorieKing Fibre Guide

Last updated: November 23rd, 2007