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DASH diet. What your heart needs.

February 23, 2022

As the heart month (February) comes to a close I thank you for being here with me as we talked about everything to do with heart health. We looked at why your heart health is crucial, how to improve and maintain our heart health and now we will look at how to eat healthy to lower blood pressure

DASH diet

DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This diet is both a preventative and curative one that is designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure (hypertension). Studies indicate that the DASH diet has the capacity to lower blood pressure in as little as two weeks, it can lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL). (I talked about how bad these are here, be sure to read it in case you missed it).

This diet includes foods rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium. These 3 nutrients are very crucial in controlling blood pressure. Foods rich in saturated fat, added sugars and sodium are limited.

What to eat

The DASH diet is a balanced flexible eating plan aimed at creating a healthy eating style for the heart that is sustainable throughout your life. The diet includes foods rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low or no fat dairy products, nuts and seeds, white meat like fish and poultry. It is important to always choose foods rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, protein, and fiber. Limits foods rich in sodium and saturated fat.

This diet calls for a certain number of daily servings from various food groups of course depending on the number of calories an individual requires daily given their lifestyle. (A dietician can help you ascertain that) however on average here are the recommended servings per day.

Whole Grains – 7-8 daily servings

Fruits – 4-5 daily servings

Vegetables – 4-5 servings

Nuts, seeds, and legumes – 4-5 servings (per week)

Low or fat-free dairy products – 2-3 servings

Meat, poultry – 2 or fewer servings

Sweets – less than 5 servings (per week)

Fats and oils – 2-3 servings

Diet tips

Add more vegetables and dry beans to your diet

Read food labels to choose products that are lower in sodium

Add a serving of vegetables at lunch and at dinner

Replace the full fat or cream with low fat or skim dairy products and have that any time.

In cooperating a fruit to your meals or have it as a snack

DASH diet summary;

Eat more whole grain foods, fish, poultry and nuts

Eat more fruits, vegetables and low or fat free dairy products

Limit sodium, sugary drinks, sweets and red meats

Cut back on foods that are high in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol

Eat for your heart

If you are hypertensive or know someone that is, kindly share this article with them and slowly begin making dietary changes that will guarantee you a more comfortable life. If you need more specialized help in this regard, kindly reach out to a nutritionist/dietician near you or contact me and I will be of help.

Thank you for celebrating heart month with me, I believe many hearts have been saved. Now let us meet in the new month of March. Some like to call it Women’s month.

See you next Wednesday.

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Nutrition

Improve and maintain your heart health

February 16, 2022

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Nutrition

Here is why your heart health is crucial.

February 9, 2022

If you remember your elementary science you know that muscle located in your left breast that is entrusted with your life, the heart. The day it stops doing its job is the day your journey on earth stops.

From the conception of a child, the heart is one of the first organs that shows face and begins its duties. It has a complex schedule, with no day-offs. While you sleep it is at work and when you awake it continues to work. It determines the quality and length of time you will stay on this earth. “Lum dum” it goes about its duties 24/7 pumping blood all over your body. The blood that carries nutrients, the air you breathe name it. It is a very strong dedicated muscle, to say the least. If you don’t take care of it, you will be an ungrateful piece of flesh moving this earth.

Human heart

Why is having a healthy heart important?

The heart is the life of a human being just as an engine is for the car. The quality of life one lives is to a very big extent dependent on how healthy their heart is. A healthy heart is central to overall good health. A strong and healthy heart will efficiently pump blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients required all around the body for you to thrive.

Loving on your heart and taking great care of it will save you the burden of having to suffer cardiovascular diseases which can be fatal. This aside, keeping a healthy heart will ensure that you maintain cholesterol and blood pressure levels in healthy ranges. High blood pressure and cholesterol levels increase the risk of one suffering cardiovascular diseases like a heart attack and stroke. Are you wondering what this means? High blood pressure also called hypertension is a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high. Then high amounts of cholesterol in the blood can limit blood flow which increases the risk of heart attacks.

It is therefore important to keep your heart healthy so that these are maintained.

Healthy heart

Can heart health be prevented, improved, or reversed?

Heart health is influenced by two factors; non-modifiable risk factors (those that cannot be changed) and modifiable risk factors (those that you can change). The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing cardiovascular disease therefore while looking to prevent, improve or reverse your heart health, it is important to focus on the modifiable risks because these you have control over. Let us look at what these risk factors look like.

Non-modifiable risk factors

Genetics – Your family history is a big determinant when it comes to heart health. Research has it that the risk of you being susceptible to a cardiovascular disease increases if your parents, brothers, sisters, or children have the disease, especially if male relatives were less than age 55 when they were diagnosed, or female relatives were less than age 65 when diagnosed.
Gender – the male gender has a greater risk compared to their female counterparts.
Age – Heart health decreases with increasing age. Cardiovascular diseases are more likely to occur as one gets older.
Menopause – After menopause, a woman’s risk of getting a cardiovascular disease increases

Modifiable risk factors

Unhealthy body weight; the more you weigh the harder your heart must work to supply your body nutrients and oxygen. Research has it that being overweight contributes to the onset of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Excess weight also raises blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Response to stress; an individual’s response to stress greatly determines their heart health. Failure to manage stress well can place immeasurably pressure on the heart which increases the chance of getting cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure.
Uncontrolled smoking and drinking alcohol; smoking and drinking a lot of alcohol can lead to increased blood pressure, heart failure, and even stroke.
Cholesterol and triglyceride levels; Excessive lipids (fatty substances including cholesterol and triglycerides), especially in the form of LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol also known as the ‘bad’ fat, cause the build-up of fatty deposits within arteries, reduces or blocks the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol also known as the ‘good’ fat takes the LDL (bad) cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver where it can be passed out of the body. High levels of HDL protect against cardiovascular disease.
Blood pressure; Blood pressure is the measurement of the pressure or force inside the arteries with each heartbeat. High blood pressure increases the workload of the heart and kidneys, increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. High blood pressure is considered the biggest risk factor for stroke.

Next Wednesday we shall talk about what can be done to avert the risk of cardiovascular disease. The earlier we start taking care of our hearts, the better for you and me.

Share this article with a friend and let us celebrate heart month together. Everyone has a part to play.

Be sure the catch my other amazing articles in case you missed them like this one.

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Nutrition

February is the heart month. Can we prevent heart diseases?

February 2, 2022

This is my first blog in the month of February. The second month of the year 2022, happy new month. The year is going by so fast my God!!!!! February is also known as the heart month. Before you all go running to Valentine’s Day being the basis for this month being the heart month, it was a month designated to advocate for cardiovascular health and raise awareness about heart diseases. Uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) has over the decades been too common and as you already know, it is also dangerously life threatening.

High blood pressure is also known as a silent killer. It is very possible and also common for one not to have symptoms but still suffer a heart disease or stroke.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide accounting for one-third of deaths in 2019 and the death toll continues to rise, China is in the lead with the highest number of heart disease deaths, followed by India, Russia, the United States and Indonesia according to the latest WHO data published in 2018. Coronary Heart Disease Deaths in Uganda reached 10,442 or 4.02% of total deaths. The age-adjusted Death Rate is 89.59 per 100,000 of population ranks Uganda #134 in the world.

In a report published by WebMD, it was mentioned that heart disease cases nearly doubled over the period from 271 million in 1990 to 523 million in 2019, and the number of heart disease deaths rose from 12.1 million to 18.6 million which is very absurd. In 2019 alone, the majority of heart disease deaths were attributed to ischemic heart disease and stroke, with a steady increase from 1990 according to the same report.

With all this, it is our duty as health care professionals, public health professionals and individuals to change the narrative. If someone tells you high blood pressure is not a big deal, lose them; high blood pressure can affect anyone at any age but the good news is that it can be prevented. For the whole of this month, this space will be dedicated to spreading awareness about hypertension and the best way to take care of our hearts as they are busy taking care of us.

Kindly share these articles with a friend and let us save one more heart this month. I will be back next Wednesday to share some information that you may not be paying attention to yet it is very crucial to the health status of your heart. Things you and I can do for ourselves or loved ones to make sure that we prevent heart diseases.

Feel free to tell me what you would also want me to enlighten you on during this month about your heart health.

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Nutrition

Has illness robbed you of your appetite?

January 26, 2022

One thing that we have had to learn brutally is that illness knows no friend, everyone is a potential target. Not with the way COVID 19 has been changing face time and again, but I am not here to talk about COVID 19, it is illness in general.

According to the dictionary, illness is a disease or period of sickness affecting the body or mind. If you have been ill before which is most of us if not all of us, you know how this thing messes up your appetite. It is a very frustrating period and the time varies among individuals as well as the type of disease one is battling.

During an illness, the brain chemistry changes as the production of chemicals called cytokines increases. These chemicals drive down appetite in a bid of conserving energy for fighting off illnesses. (1)

When illness robs you of your appetite, it can be sad. Photo; Pixabay.com

Are you wondering what to do for your appetite when illness robs you of it? Here it is;

Go slow on foods of strong odours.

Foods high in fat and sugar are known to induce nausea. Illnesses affect not only a person’s sense of taste but also their sense of smell. When trying to return your appetite following an illness or surgery, try consuming bland foods (foods that are soft, not very spicy, not fried, and low in fiber). Click here to find out what a bland diet is, the foods you should include, and those to exclude for that period. (2)

Please note that as your appetite picks up, you will be able to incorporate more food back into your meals.

Prepare yourself bland foods. *Photo; Pixabay.com*

Use Herbs and Spices

I recently wrote about the top 5 spices everyone needs in their kitchen, stating the benefits these have beyond enhancing taste. Have you read it yet? No? Here it is.

Since time memorial, several naturopathic remedies have been known to stimulate the appetite and these include herbs and spices like garlic, cinnamon, fennel, green tea, ginseng, turmeric, rosemary to mention but a few. Some herbs, spices, and bitters tonics will improve your appetite by aiding digestion and reducing flatulence in turn while making your food more appealing.

These are Bay leaves, rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. *Photo; Pixabay.com*

Eat small meals frequently

Offering smaller frequent meals is one of the easiest ways to return appetite after an illness. Instead of going for 3 main meals, how about you break these into 5 or 6 small meals? Do you know why? If one has a poor appetite, seeing big portions of food can be overwhelming and discouraging, many of us can attest to that. So breaking this into sizeable portions throughout the day will enable one to achieve their nutritional needs throughout the day without the need of forcing food down their throat. As the appetite returns, the portions can increase and the number of meals decreases.

Small meals, many times a day does the magic. *Photo; Pixabay.com*

Eat a lot of healthy snacks like fruits

Helping maintain adequate nutrition if one has a poor appetite but cannot eat full meals, such as due to an illness is one of the benefits pointed out on ‘The Nutrition Source’ (3). While snacking is important it is key to snack on healthy foods like fruits that are packed with vitamin C that is vital for boosting immunity, protein bars, nuts that will replenish worn out muscle e.t.c

Drink your calories

If you are still finding it hard to eat a plate of food, how about you drink more. We know that sometimes following an illness or surgery, the last thing on your mind is chewing into food but drinking is more tolerable. Your body needs all the nutrients to recover completely and there is no need to wait until you can chew food. You cannot afford that. But here is a trick, you can prepare drinks that are full of vital nutrients like proteins that the body needs. These drinks include smoothies, juices, milkshakes, and yoghurt.

A healthy drink packed with nutrients like a smoothie is good

Start with your favorite foods

When struggling to eat food, you want to look down your plate and find some motivation to eat. Choosing your favourite foods is a good way to get that motivation. This can be paired with foods that are required for the body’s healing that are not necessarily favourites. It is therefore important to plan your meals, take time to think of what you will be taking down your gut. If this does not come easy, try scheduling your meals until the body is strong enough to ask for food through hunger cues.

Pick food that your body will tolerate because you already love it

Stay hydrated

During illness, there is a tendency for the body to lose fluids through vomiting or diarrhea and it is important that one replenishes all the lost fluids to stop one from getting dehydrated. Coldwater is known for averting nausea. Just make sure to sip it slowly.

As a caution, try not to drink water very close to mealtime, you may fail to eat your meals which is our goal here.

Your appetite will return, do not ignore the small changes. They make a huge difference. Now go and try some of these for you or a loved one.

See you next Wednesday

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