Diet

How can diet affect your health?

The foods you eat have a huge impact on your health. When you improve your eating habits, you improve your overall health. Consider these examples:

• Fiber improves your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Controlling blood sugar levels is important for people with pre-diabetes or diabetes.
• Too much alcohol can increase your blood pressure, cause heart failure, and lead to stroke.
• Saturated fat or cholesterol can cause plaque buildup in your arterias, which increases your risk for stroke and heart attack.
• Salt or sodium-found in many canned foods, frozen dinners, and fast foods- can raise blood pressure for many people. lf you have heart failure, salt can also make your symptoms worse.

What you can do

• The following are typical guidelines for a heart-healthy diet:
• Eat more fiber-fresh vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, dried beans, and oats.
• Limit the amount of fat you eat-especially saturated fat, or fat from animals.
• Drink alcohol in moderation-one drink per day for women, two for men.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables- instead of chips or other snacks high in cholesterol and sodium.
• Buy foods with the American Heart Association heart-check mark.
• Limit salt intake-and check out the sodium content on the foods you eat.

Find out from your doctor or nurse if you should follow any special food guidelines.

Don’t discount the impact that lifestyle changas can have on your health. According to the National lnstitutes of Health, a healthy lifestyle can help lower heart disease risk by 82%. In most cases, this means you should follow a heart­ healthy eating plan, get regular physical activity, maintain a healthy weight, and quit smoking.

P/ease check with your doctor or nurse before starting a diet or exercise program.