Nutrition in Heart Disease
Cardiovascular Disease is a most important reason of death and ill health in the UK. Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, is general, frequently fatal and, as a premature cause of ill-health, largely avoidable.
Nutrition in Heart Disease includes:
- Consume less fat and fatty foods
- Use vegetable oil that is high in unsaturated fat in cooking, but only in little amounts, e.g. olive oil or rapeseed oil.
- Consume more fruits and vegetables, at least 5 times a day.
- Use low-salt products and use less salt in cooking.
- Consume more starchy foods, like potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and breakfast cereals.
- Prefer high fiber, whole-grain products.
- Prefer lean meat, beans, poultry, and alternatives instead of fatty meat or meat products.
- Eat fish at least two times a week, of which one time should be oily fish.
- Prefer low-fat dairy foods, like skimmed and semi-skimmed milk or low-fat yoghurt.
- If you take alcohol, do so moderately. The guidelines for safe and sound intakes are no more than 3-4 units per day for men and 2-3 units per day for women.
