Smita Dey

স্পষ্ট ভাষী মানুষ

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A heart-healthy dinner ensures your last meal with the foods that keep your heart healthy. A heart-healthy dinner can help you to reduce the risk of heart disease. We know ‘A Healthy Heart is a Happy Heart’.  Eating a healthy dinner can reduce our health problems.

A healthy diet and dinner as well can ensure good heart health and also prevents further complications if we already have a heart problem.

An estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2016, representing 31% of all global deaths.[1]

From the quoted report we can see how a healthy heart is important for our life. We can avoid the situation with our awareness.

Why is Heart Healthy Dinner Important

We need to practice healthy eating habits along with other steps to have a healthy heart. Healthy eating with healthy habits can assure our healthy heart.

A heart-healthy dinner is important for us if we have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and also if we have any heart issues. A heart-healthy dinner also helps us to reduce the risk of heart disease if we have a family history of heart diseases.

A poor or unhealthy diet is one of the causes of heart disease. We can manage our heart issues; managing our blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes with a nutritious diet.

If we enjoy a nutritious and healthy diet along with physical activities and quit smoking habits, we can keep our heart healthy.

Heart-Healthy Dinner Ideas: Cardiac Diet

Heart-healthy dinner ideas are the ideas helping us to have the foods that are good for our heart health. It is a plan to have heart-healthy foods in our mealtimes. 

The plan encourages to have nutrient-rich foods, whole grains, and fish. It also encourages us to avoid some foods to keep our hearts hale and healthy.

A heart-healthy diet or food is known as a ‘cardiac diet’. We can have a clear conception of heart-healthy dinner ideas if we are aware of the cardiac diet. Having ideas about heart-healthy diet we can have heart healthy dinner ideas both are co-related. 

Healthy Heart Dinner Ideas with Food Elements

As diet plays a crucial role in our heart and overall health, we must not ignore our diet. we may think it is difficult for us to follow a heart-healthy diet. But our heart-healthy foods are not out of your reach.

Yes, you can find these from your daily foods. With less salt and limiting your alcohol intake, you can have heart-healthy dinner ideas from the food elements that you take daily. Here are some of these:

1. Omega 3 Fatty Acids

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish rich in Omega 3 fatty acids to reduce the risk of heart failure.[2] Omega 3 fish oil contains EPA and DHA decrease inflammation, prevent clot formation, and help to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 

2. Quercetin

Quercetin is a plant pigment. It is found in apples, berries, red wine, and green tea. The anti-inflammatory properties of quercertin help to prevent blood clots. The availability of fruits and vegetables in a regular diet reduces the risk of heart disease. 

3. Folate

Researches say Folate can fight to reduce heart diseases. Folic acid can reduce the thickening of arterial walls. Leafy greens, beans, rice, and pasta are the source of folic acid.

4. Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats can help reduce the level of bad cholesterol in your blood and lower the risk of stroke and heart attack.[3] Avocado, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, canola oil, olive oil, sesame oil, and peanut oil provide monounsaturated fats.

5. L- Carnitine

L-Carnitine is an amino acid that is produced naturally in the body. It is essential for healthy cholesterol and helps to break down fats into energy so that the heart muscle can function properly. 

6. Lycopene

It is an antioxidant. It gives tomatoes its red color. Lycopene works to improve vascular function can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disorders.[4] It has cholesterol-lowering properties.

7. Magnesium

Magnesium is essential for every organ especially our heart. It helps the heart to function properly. It keeps blood sugar under control. It is essential as it maintains a steady heart beat and normal blood pressure.[5] You can find your required magnesium from walnuts and spinach.

8. Polyphenols

Polyphenols help to increase nitric oxide production in the body which causes blood vessels to relax and dilate and in that way lowering blood pressure. Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are a source of polyphenol. 

9. Whole Grain

New research shows eating 40 gm of wholegrain a day decreases the risk of heart disease by 2o%.[6] Whole grains provide the fiber that keeps the heart-healthy. All the nutrients in whole grains provide benefits for your heart health. Whole-wheat bread, pasta, brown rice is the prime source of whole grains. 

10. Lean Protein

Protein is important for your overall health. You need to choose lean protein for your diet. You have options with egg, soybeans, skinless poultry, and lean ground meats.

These heart-healthy nutrients will save you from cardiovascular disease in the future and also help you to prevent another heart attack if you had. So, these are important for both who had a heart issue and who want to avoid any issue in the future.

Foods to Avoid for Your Heart Health

Knowing about heart-healthy food is not enough to keep your heart healthy. You need to avoid certain foods having your meals with heart-healthy foods. These foods may cause of your heart disease, increasing your blood pressure and cholesterol. 

Excess amounts of Salt, saturated fat, sugar, and refined carbs are alarming for your heart health. So you must avoid these or limit to keep your heart safe and healthy. 

Salt

Try to avoid excess salt in your diet. Excess sodium increases blood volume in blood vessels raising blood pressure and makes the heart work harder to pump it properly. [7] Try to intake not more than 1,500 milligrams of salt daily. 

Sugar

A high amount of sugar in your diet may cause type 2 diabetes resulting cause of heart diseases in the future. It also spike blood sugar level and lower the level of good cholesterol. 

Trans fats

Trans fats increase the bad cholesterol and reduce the good cholesterol. It may cause to build up cholesterol in arteries resulting in heart diseases.  

Refined Carbs

Refined carbs increase blood sugar levels and triglyceride. These may cause heart disease. 

So you need to be aware of the elements while you are planning to have a cardiac diet. Being aware of the elements of your job can become easy to make your dinner and other meals heart healthy.

To avoid or limit the elements it is easy for you to know the specific foods containing such elements.

Bacon

Bacon is loaded with excess sodium and saturated fats. So try to avoid bacon in your dinner menu.

Red Meat

Limit to intake beef, pork, and lamb. These are high in saturated fat and cause of high cholesterol.

Soft Drinks

Soft drinks contain added sugar and cause of gaining weight resulting in high blood pressure and heart disease. 

Cakes

Cakes, cookies are loaded with added sugar. These also increase triglyceride levels. 

Processed Meat

Hot dogs, sausage, salami contain a high amount of salt and saturated fats. Your heart health should avoid using these for your daily diet. 

Refined Grains Made Foods

Refined grains convert to sugar quickly and are stored as fat in our bodies. So it is better to limit white rice, pasta, and bread made with refined grains. 

Butter 

Butter is loaded with saturated fat. Try to use vegetable oil or olive oil in place of butter.

Flavored Yogurt

Flavored full-fat yogurt contains added sugar. You can use low-fat yogurt as it is good for you to keep your blood pressure control. 

Fried Foods

Try to avoid fried foods as they are loaded with fat and salt. You should have baked foods to keep your heart healthy. Baked chicken is healthier than fried chicken.

Canned Soup

You can save your time with canned soup but not your heart health. It contains a high amount of sodium. So try to prepare your soup at your home. 

Ice cream

Ice cream contains a high amount of sugar, calories, and fat. So try to have it occasionally.

Alcohol

You need to limit your alcohol intake. Excess of alcohol may cause high blood pressure and fat resulting in heart disease. 

So, you need to avoid or limit these foods to keep your heart safe from disease. Avoiding or limiting these you can ensure your healthy life

Heart-Healthy Dinner Menus 

A heart-healthy dinner menu contributes to having a heart-friendly dinner. By selecting a healthy dinner menu you can have a healthy and luscious dinner. 

You can save your time, energy and enjoy your dinner time when your dinner menu is ready to prepare. Setting your dinner menu for your heart health is easy as you know what to eat and what to avoid. 

You need to focus on vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain while you are planning your dinner menu. At the same time, you need to cut off high sodium, sugar, and high-fat foods. Here are some examples for a week.

Day 1

1.    Chickpea and Red Pepper Soup.

2.    Roasted Salmon

3.    Strawberries

Day 2

1.    Roasted Tofu and Noodle Salad

2.    Steamed Green Beans

3.    Quinoa Salad

4.    1 Small Orange

Day 3

1.    Roasted Salmon

2.    Mixed Green Salad

3.    Brown Rice with Green Peas and Carrots.

4.    1 Cup Skim Milk

Day 4

1.    Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables.

2.    Roasted Broccoli.

3.    Toasted Tortillas with beans and cheese.

4.    Grape Juice

Day 5

1.    Vegetable Fried Rice with chicken

2.    Roasted Potato

3.    Vegetable Soup

Day 6

1.    Salad with Spinach and Cauliflower

2.    Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce

3.    Vegetable Rice.

Day 7

1.    Tuna with Green Beans.

2.    Avocado salad

3.    Vegetable and Brown Rice Pasta

So these are your weekly heart healthy dinner menus. You can start your heart healthy eating habits following these. You are also free to set your menu with your own choice.

Hale and Hearty Recipes for Dinner with Ingredients You Already Have

The conception of the important heart-healthy nutrients is clear now from the above discussion. You can have some heart-healthy dinner recipes’ names for you and your loved ones. Let’s see the names with the main and other ingredients. The cooking process of the recipes will be shared in detail very soon.

1. Spiced Lentils

You can prepare this recipe with red lentils or yellow lentils, gingers, garlic cloves, turmeric, dried red chili, and cumin seeds. You need only 30 minutes to prepare this recipe.

2. Whole-Wheat Pasta with Broccolini and Feta

You can prepare the recipe with shallot, broccolini, radishes, whole-wheat rigatoni, and feta cheese. This dish assures your required nutrients. You can find the benefit of whole grain from rigatoni, folate from broccolini, and monounsaturated fats from olive oil.

3. Snapper with Roasted Grape Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil

You can have a delicious and heart-healthy dinner recipe with snapper fillets, tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and basil leaves. The benefit of heart-healthy lycopene is available from tomatoes. Snapper assures your protein and DHA requirements. Basil also provides magnesium and omega 3 fatty acids along with other vitamins.

4. Kale Slaw

The main ingredient of the recipe is kale that contains fiber, antioxidants, vitamin K, potassium. All these are heart-healthy nutrients. You will need a carrot, orange and lemon juice, bacon, mayonnaise, and olive oil to prepare the delicious recipe.

Try these recipes for your dinner. Your enjoyable dinner time is assured keeping anxiety aside for your heart with these recipes.

Only a few heart-healthy dinner recipes’ names are shared here. You will find many more delicious heart-healthy dinner recipes very soon. Wait for these. You won’t be deprived. 

Conclusion

You can have better health with no cardiovascular issues having a heart-healthy dinner with the discussed nutrients. Please do not be upset about being a cardiac patient. You can live a normal and healthy life while you are following the heart-healthy dinner ideas.

The ideas are essential for all, as all these nutrients keep our heart healthy. We can avoid any cardiac issue in the future if we follow the ideas that make our heart healthy. Keep in mind, a healthy diet and physical activities can give us a heart-healthy body that we all dream.



References:

  1. https://www.who.int
  2. https://www.mayoclinic.org
  3. https://www.heart.org
  4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. https://www.everydayhealth.com
  6. https://www.webmd.com
  7. https://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/heart-healthy-foods-fuel-cardiac-diet