by kelsey | Feb 16, 2011 | Diet, Food, Heart Health, Wellness/Health
When we’re looking at heart healthy nutrition, eggs often come up in converstation. They seem to have gotten a bad reputation in the last few years as being bad for you and your heart due to the cholesterol found in the yolk. The yolk does have quite a bit of cholesterol, however the egg itself is an excellent source of protein (including several essential proteins) and unsaturated (healthy) fats. If you have heart disease or high cholesterol, it’s recommended to keep your intake to 3-5 eggs/week while still aiming to reduce your saturated and trans fat intake. If you like eggs and want them more than this, try using an egg substitute (liquid eggs) or have 2 egg whites for 1 yolk.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Feb 15, 2011 | Diet, Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Low fat dairy products “do a body good” by providing an excellent source of calcium and protein to our body. They are an essential part of the heart healthy diet as well. Low fat dairy products are recommended over the full fat selections because of the reduced saturated fat content. Saturated fat is known as the “bad” fat that leads to clogged arteries and heart disease. Choose low fat selections like skim or 1% milk, low fat cottage cheese, cream cheese, cheese, icecream, etc. Since calcium is essential for bone structure, it is recommended we intake 1000-1500 mg/day (varies on age). If you are not a milk drinker, you may want to ask your Brown Clinic provider about taking a calcium supplement.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Feb 10, 2011 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Etc., Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Whole grains are a very important part of the heart healthy diet. They offer a great source of fiber to promote heart health. To ensure you are getting a true whole grain product, you will want to check the ingredient list under your nutrition label. The first ingredient should say “whole wheat” or “whole grain.” If it says “enriched” it is still a white product. Product packaging can make this part of grocery shopping really confusing so make sure you allow yourself adequate time in the grocery store for label reading and to ensure you are getting healthy products. Remember to choose whole grain breads, brown rice, wild rice, whole wheat noodles, and whole grain cereals over the white products. If you’re unsure of the full transition to wheat products, try mixing the white and wheat products together…such as when you make spaghetti!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Feb 3, 2011 | Diet, Food, Weight Management
When drinking liquids containing calories, we usually do not compensate by eating less food. One can of regular soda pop contains 150 calories, while 1 can of diet soda pop contains 0 calories. While I am not promoting soda pop, I do believe diet soda is a healthier choice over regular soda pop, if water does not satisfy your taste buds. In fact the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association both recommend sugar substitutes over sugar for weight management and blood glucose control.
In addition to the sugary beverages, you have to be aware of the calories in alcoholic beverages. There are about 100-120 calories in about 12 oz of light beer and 150-170 in 12 oz of regular beer. So if you have a few alcoholic beverages in a sitting, the calories can add up quickly! With the Superbowl approaching you may want to increase your awareness of what and how much you are drinking. Personally, I would rather “eat” my calories than “drink” them, so when I get ready to watch the big game on Sunday, I’m going to opt for a lower calorie drink such as my favorites Diet Coke or Diet Mtn Dew so that I can really enjoy the food selections.
-Kelsey
