Heart-healthy diet: How and what to eat to prevent heart attacks

Heart attacks are scary even if you are just suffering a minor one. What you eat plays a big part in having a healthy heart.

Heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death. Men aged 45 years old and above are at risk while high risk age for women is 55 years old or higher. That, however, does not mean that it cannot happen to those aged below that.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of heart attacks. A cardiovascular disease is anything that affects the heart or the blood vessels.

When fatty deposits build up in your arteries, it could cause a blockage in the blood supply to the heart and thus results to heart attack.

The fatty deposits come from the food that you eat and this is why diet, really plays a big part for your heart to remain healthy. A heart-healthy diet can prevent heart disease and heart attack.

While watching what kind of food we eat is very important, you should also watch out how much you eat. Avoid overloading your plate because this would mean that your calorie intake is more than what is required daily.

Having more vegetables and fruits in your diet can help you in maintaining a low calorie diet such as you won't have to be eating a lot of meat which is high in saturated fat, cheese and other snack food.

Adding whole grains to your diet will also keep your heart healthy. Whole grains can regulate your blood pressure because they are good sources of fiber.

While your body will also need fats, you should lessen your intake of saturated fat and avoid the trans fat. You can cut out the fat in your meat or just get the lean cuts. Processed meat is also something to avoid or eat less of.

Choose low-fat protein sources such as skim milk instead of whole milk, chicken breast without the skin, fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. There's also flaxseed, soybeans or walnuts.

Another thing that could help you keep your heart healthy is reducing the sodium in your food. High sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure.

While keeping track of your food is tedious, planning ahead and creating daily menus would be very useful for you.

Of course, you can have your cheat day at least once a week wherein you can have the food that you are starving yourself from for the sake of a healthy heart and longer life. But, even if it is cheat day, eating in moderation is still a must.