Show Some Love to Your Heart (Health)
When we think of Valentine’s Day, we often think about giving & showing our love in the form of food. Traditionally, our labours of love have manifested themselves in the gift of chocolate (or a chocolate-based dessert) as it helps to comfort our hearts & souls. Little did we know, there is a way to extend this type of love to our literal hearts…that is, through keeping our hearts healthy from the foods that we eat!
Let’s explore some foods to be more mindful of when it comes to our heart-health.
1.Fibre-rich Foods
Fiber helps to regulate our blood sugar levels, our cholesterol levels as well as our blood pressure to help keep blood properly pumping to the heart. As fiber can be found in a variety of different foods, here are some ways you can include more fiber into your day:
Choose whole grains more often. Whole grains are, most often time, highly overlooked and extremely underrated. Often referred to as the ‘carbs’ in our diets, they help to provide a main source of fuel for the body as well as add bulk and essential nutrients to your meals! Find out more about them here.
Eat your fruits & vegetables. Keeping your plate plentiful and colourful can help to ensure that you’re getting a variety of different nutrients as well as a satisfying meal. When possible, be sure to properly wash your fruits and vegetables well and to keep the peel on them in order to help preserve as much of the fiber as possible!
Cook with more plant-based protein. This includes foods like legumes (ex: chickpea, lentils, black beans, etc.), soy protein (ex: tofu, edamame, tempeh, texturized vegetable protein TVP, etc.) as well as nuts, seeds & their butters (ex: walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.)
Bottom line : creating more balanced meals can help to ensure you’re getting enough fiber in a day. For more information about fiber, click here.
2. Unsaturated Fats
Contrary to popular belief, fats are important to help meet your daily needs. This is because they allow your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients such as Vitamin A, D, E & K that can be found in a variety of foods.
Choose unsaturated plant-based oils such as olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil & vegetable oil. Unsaturated fats are often time considered as the 'good' fat in foods as they play a significant role in helping to reduce the ‘bad’ fat that may be circulating in the bloodstream.
Eat fish more often (at least 2 times per week). Fish, such as salmon, trout & sardines, contain an essential fat known as Omega-3 fats, which present many health benefits for our long term heart health. To learn more about Omega-3 fats, click here.
Add avocado, nuts & seeds to enhance your meals. Rich in fiber & unsaturated fats, try sprinkling them into your salads, soups, sandwiches or power bowls!
As fats naturally provide more calories per serving, it is important to simply be more mindful of the portion sizes eaten/used at a time!
3. Sodium
While sodium may be an essential part of our daily requirements, we are often told to regulate its consumption as it can be easily consumed within a day. This is because sodium can be found both naturally in certain foods and more notably, in larger amounts in overly-processed or ready-made foods. Consequently, a high consumption of sodium can lead to chronic heart conditions such high blood pressure, more commonly referred to as hypertension. Here are some helpful ways to reduce a high intake of salt in a day:
Prioritize freshly made foods or foods without any added ingredients. This can look like opting for an un-marinated choice of meat/poultry, opting for a fresh snack or choosing a fresh, frozen or canned vegetables with little to no added sodium.
Cook with aromatics like spices, herbs, lemon, leek & garlic more often.Naturally flavoured elements can help to add more flavour to our foods without the use of a salt shaker.
Choose low-sodium ingredients or use smaller amounts in recipes. This can look like buying low-sodium versions of canned goods (ex: canned beans, tomato sauce and boxed broths), doing your best to reduce the amount of salty ingredients added into a recipe such as soy sauce & oyster sauce or opting for their low-sodium alternative (ex: low sodium soya sauce).
In sum, proper nutrition is optimal for proper prevention! Cooking more often and embracing the pleasures of variety through the foods that we eat can help to provide our bodies with long-term benefits for our overall health.
The heart wants what it wants.
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