Diet Plans For Women And Heart Healthy Diet

By | April 14, 2009

Diet Supplements For Women At Work

Heart ailments are the primary cause of death in women in the United States. One out of every four women succumbs to death following a heart malfunction. Twenty three percent die within the same year of an attack, and 45% suffer from heart failures within 6 years following an attack. Post menopause the risk of heart attacks rises drastically.

So every woman who is reading this, take heed and every man who is reading this, make the women in your life aware of these statistics. It has become more imperative than ever to keep the heart healthy and the time is now to start making some basic changes, whether or not you have a bad heart. Every woman should start making the requisite dietary, lifestyle, and activity changes to lower the risk of heart disease.

Let’s begin here with understanding what constitutes a healthy heart diet. A healthy heart diet is not a restrictive diet and allows every woman to enjoy all kinds of food. It is a guideline that will help you decide on the proportions and enable you to enjoy occasional treats without having to worry about your heart.

A typical American diet is laden with red meats, processed and fried foods, food containing more trans-fats than omega fats, added sugars and high sodium. If your food habits consist of these foods you are for sure one of those women who will have a heart failure eventually. You need to stop and start following the guidelines given below, which will lower your risk of heart diseases and help you live a healthy life.

Vegetarian Diet Tips For Women

  • Incorporate at least one fruit and a vegetable in every meal.
  • Opt for whole grains and their flours over refined ones since they are abundant in vitamins and minerals. They contain complex carbohydrates, which are good for the body and help you to feel stay fuller for longer.
  • Choose lean meats such as pork tenderloin, chicken breast, etc. Each serving of these meats can be about 3 oz or the size of a deck of cards. The total consumption of meats, seafood and poultry should not exceed 6 to 7 oz per day.
  • Avoid processed foods; they contain little nutrition value and are laden with sodium and sugars.
  • Incorporate the good fats such as the Omegas (o) in your daily diet. They increase the good cholesterol levels and help in weight loss. Wheat germ oil, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, purslane, are good sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. Evening Primrose, black currant seed oil, pine nuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds contain the Omega 6 fatty acids.
  • Avoid using refined oils. Olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil are healthy oils; opt for the ones, which are extracted using the cold pressed method to avail all their benefits.
  • Avoid deep frying foods. Try barbecuing, steaming, and roasting instead. Buy a good cookbook if you need help with recipes using these methods.