IMA: Foods to avoid for a healthy #heart

Foods to avoid for a healthy heart

Here are 15 ways to help you achieve this goal

 New Delhi, Dec 24, 2015: With Christmas and New Year’s approaching and the temperatures dropping by the day, people have a tendency to over-indulge in unhealthy food to keep themselves warm and ward away winter depression.

There is also a sudden increase in the amount of alcohol consumed by a person as their social engagements increase and celebrations begin. It is extremely important to raise awareness about the impact such habits one has on a person’s health specially those with existing lifestyle diseases, children and the elderly.

Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee Dr. A Marthanda Pillai – National President and Padma Shri Awardee Dr. KK Aggarwal – Honorary Secretary General IMA in a joint statement said. “The tendency to over-indulge during the winter and festive months can have severe health implications on people. It is important to educate people about the importance of following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise and staying away from alcohol for a healthy heart. It is a known fact that the number of heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest cases rise during the winters. It is essential that people limit the consumption of food high in trans fats, sugar and salt and replace them with fresh fruits and vegetables to stay healthy”.

A few food items, which one should avoid or restrict, include:

 Processed meats: Eat none or less than 2 servings (2-3 ounces) per week. Processed meats are those preserved using salts, nitrites or other preservatives. They include hot dogs, bacon, sausage, salami and other deli meats, including deli ham, turkey, bologna and chicken. Long-term observational studies have found that the worst types of meats for the heart are those that are processed.

• ·Highly refined and processed grains and carbohydrates: Eat none or at most 7 servings (1 ounce) per week. Studies have linked whole grain intake – in place of starches (like potatoes) and refined carbohydrates (like white bread, white rice and low-fiber breakfast cereals) – to a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and possibly stroke. Whole grains are also linked to lower weight gain over time. Whole grains lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and may improve blood vessel function and reduce hunger.

Refined or processed foods include white bread, white rice, low-fiber breakfast cereals, sweets and sugars, and other refined or processed carbohydrates. High levels of processing remove many of the most healthful components in whole grains, such as dietary fiber, minerals, phytochemicals and fatty acids. High levels of processing also destroy the food’s natural structure. For example, eating a food made of finely milled oats (e.g., Cheerios) or grains (e.g., typically finely milled whole-grain bread) produce much higher spikes in blood sugar than less-processed versions such as steel-cut oats or stone-ground bread. Moreover, processing often adds many ingredients that are less healthy, particularly trans fats, sodium and sugars.

Also, some research shows that fructose is metabolized differently than other sugars, in a way that increases the liver’s production of new fat. Fructose represents about half of the sugar in sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose (found in cane sugar and beet sugar). That’s not to suggest that you never eat a slice of pie or white bread – just make them an occasional treat rather than a regular part of your diet.

Soft drinks and other sugary drinks: Drink none or at most seven 8-ounce servings per week (one 8-ounce serving per day). The examples are sodas, sweetened fruit drinks, and sports drinks. A 12-ounce can of soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of table sugar. Diet sodas are sugar-free or low in calories, but have no nutrients.

Sugary drinks have all the same ill effects on the heart as highly refined and processed carbohydrates. The body does not compute the calories you ingest in liquid form in the same way as it does the calories you take in from solid foods. So if you add a soda to your meal, you are likely to eat about the same amount of calories from the rest of your food as if you drank water instead. The soda calories are just ‘added on.’ In addition to the other harms of highly refined and processed carbohydrates, sugary drinks also increase your chances of weight gain.

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 About IMA: Indian Medical Association is the only representative,  national voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well-being of the community at large. It has its Headquarter in Delhi and State / Terr. Branches in 29 States and Union Territories. It has over 2, 53,000 doctors as its members through more than 1650 active local branches spread across the country.