How can you improve heart health from your diet?💖💖💖

The health of the body is closely related to the daily diet, especially some chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Eating patterns should not focus on just one nutrient or food, but should emphasize the entire eating pattern. Although nutritional requirements will vary at each stage of life, we should all take care of our heart health. Regardless of your age, a heart-healthy eating pattern can be beneficial. Eating patterns refers to the combination, type and quantity of foods and drinks that individuals often consume in their daily lives. The following dietary recommendations take into account the influence of age, ethnicity, culture, dietary restrictions and taboos on dietary patterns in different populations. It can provide useful dietary guidance to more people. 

The balance of energy expenditure and intake maintains an appropriate body weight.

An unhealthy weight greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Many people in today's society do little exercise and eat a lot. People's energy intake can vary widely based on personal factors such as their gender, age, size, and level of activity. Under normal circumstances, adults reduce their energy requirements by 70 to 100 calories every 10 years, and then adjust the balance of energy intake and expenditure according to the individual's physical activity. This is critical for maintaining a healthy weight.

Eat more vegetables and fruits of different types.

The risk of death is reduced by eating more vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. In order to absorb more comprehensive nutrition, the more types of vegetables and fruits you eat, the better. They provide the body with the nutrients it needs and keep it healthy. Some experts recommend that the brighter the color of vegetables and fruits, the better for the body. It recommends not juicing vegetables or fruits, but eating them whole.

Eat less refined foods and more whole grains.

There are many studies that show that eating refined foods is bad for your health and whole grains are good for your health. Therefore, it is recommended to eat more foods containing at least 51% whole grains.

The source of protein should choose healthy protein.

Plant-based protein provides more health benefits than animal-based protein. Plant-based protein can be obtained from legumes (such as soybeans, lentils, peas, chickpeas, etc.), nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.), algae (such as spirulina). In addition, replacing animal food with plant food can also reduce animal breeding, thereby reducing animal carbon emissions and protecting the environment. However, many plant-based foods on the market are processed. They may have added sugar, salt, preservatives, etc. In addition, it also recommends eating more low-fat dairy products (full-fat dairy products should be avoided), fish and shellfish. If you want to eat chicken or red meat, you should choose lean meats and avoid processed meats.

Liquid vegetable oil should be used.

The use of cooking oil should avoid animal oils (such as lard, butter), tropical vegetable oils (such as palm oil, coconut oil) and partially hydrogenated oils. It is recommended to use corn oil, sunflower oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil and most nut oils.

Avoid ultra-processed foods and choose for lightly processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods add a lot of salt, sugar, additives, and preservatives to make them taste better. It can cause people overweight, metabolic disorders and other adverse health effects. This increases mortality. Therefore, people should avoid eating too many ultra-processed foods (such as chocolate, ready-to-eat foods, etc.). It is recommended to eat foods with little or no processing.

Sugary diets should be minimized.

Foods and beverages that are high in sugar, whether they contain glucose, fructose or other sweeteners, should be avoided as much as possible. In addition, it also recommends eating less low-energy sweeteners.

Avoid high-salt foods.

Foods high in salt have long been considered bad for heart health. Therefore, it is recommended that people reduce their salt intake. In addition to adding less salt when cooking, you should also pay attention to the salt content of some canned and processed foods. In addition, it may also consider replacing ordinary table salt with potassium-rich salt.

Limit alcohol.

People should avoid alcohol as much as possible. Even if you want to drink, you should try to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink. Alcohol is not only harmful to the cardiovascular system, it can also damage other organs. The risks posed by alcohol also vary by age, gender and amount of intake.