Did you receive this email from a friend? Subscribe to our newsletter!
View this email in your browser

Tips for a Healthy Heart


In honor of American Heart Month this February, here are some tips to help you keep your ticker in tip top shape.  
 

Heart Healthy Diet Tips


1.  Eat more fruits and vegetables. Rich in antioxidants, fiber, potassium, and an array of other heart healthy vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, fruits and veggies have perhaps more disease-fighting potential than any other food group. 

Tip: Aim to include a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal. Make it easy by keeping quick no-prep choices on hand like baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, frozen veggies, apples, bananas, and clementines.

2. Choose mostly whole grains (instead of refined grains). Whole grains are full of heart-healthy nutrients like fiber, folate, and other B vitamins.
 
Tip: Incorporate barley and oatmeal into your diet. These delicious whole grains are good sources of soluble fiber – the type of fiber that helps control blood sugar and lower cholesterol.
 
3. Replace saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats. This swap can have a big impact in lowering cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Olive oil, canola oil, avocado, seeds, nuts, and fatty fish are good sources of healthy unsaturated fats. Not-so-healthy saturated fats are found mostly in animal foods like butter, full-fat dairy products, fatty meats, and poultry skin. Some plant oils like coconut oil and palm oil are also high in saturated fat.  Trans fat, the unhealthiest type of fat, is found in stick margarine and foods with hydrogenated oils.
 
Tip: Aim to eat fatty fish like salmon, tuna, or sardines at least twice a week to get heart healthy omega-3 fats, which can help lower triglycerides and raise HDL (aka “good” cholesterol).
 
4. Make your protein lean. Limit red meat and choose mostly lean proteins like skinless poultry, fish, egg whites, and low-fat dairy to keep your saturated fat intake down. Include some heart-healthy plant proteins too, like beans, nuts, and soy.

Tip: Limit your intake of processed red meat like salami, ham, bacon, and sausage as much as possible (studies have found a link between consumption of processed red meat and a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes).
 
5. Watch the sodium. For some people, consuming too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and increased risk of stroke. The American Heart Association recommends keeping sodium intake under 1500 mg/day and other organizations recommend under 2300 mg/day (about 1 teaspoon), although recent studies suggest that these guidelines may be too low. Until the debate is settled, most of us can benefit from reducing our intake of some of the highest sodium foods like processed meats, canned soups and vegetables, and restaurant meals.
 
Tip: Getting enough potassium from food (not supplements) can help lower blood pressure by lessening the negative effects of sodium – another good reason to up your intake of potassium-rich fruit, vegetables, beans, and low-fat dairy.


Heart Healthy Lifestyle Tips


-Don’t smoke.

-If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation (no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women).

-Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days. Focus on the activities you find most enjoyable.

-Find healthy ways to manage stress.

-Get enough sleep.

-Know your numbers (cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar).
 

Eating Disorders and Heart Problems


Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), low blood pressure (hypotension), too slow heart rate (bradycardia), shrinking of heart muscle (atrophy), malnutrition, and electrolyte imbalances are some of the potential medical consequences of eating disorders (including, but not limited to, anorexia nervosa and bulimia). These complications affect the cardiovascular system, and can lead to serious heart problems, even heart failure.   
 
Fortunately, most of these cardiovascular problems can resolve with eating disorder treatment. Treatment may initially include recommendations quite different from those given for general heart health. For example, someone with an eating disorder may be advised to decrease vegetable intake, increase fat consumption, and/or decrease exercise to allow the heart and body to heal.

Reader Question

Q: I unfortunately regained some of the weight I lost. Can you give some tips on how to not beat myself up too much as I work on losing the weight? AA
 
A:  Great question! You clearly get that beating yourself up is not helping you reach your goals. Instead of motivating change, prolonged feelings of guilt and regret just keep us stuck. So, what can you do?

First, forgive yourself so that you can move forward. If you are struggling to find self-compassion, think about what you might say to a friend in a similar situation. Chances are you would NOT tell a friend to continue punishing herself for having gained weight.

Also, take a moment to acknowledge the progress and positive changes you have made. Maybe you aren’t so happy with some of your food choices, but what are you proud of? Celebrating your successes can really help motivate you to keep going.

Most importantly, shift the focus away from weight loss. Instead, focus on the behaviors you would benefit from changing. Do you wait too long between meals and get overly hungry? Does this lead to overeating? Do you have an all or nothing mindset with food and exercise? Do you use food to cope with emotions? What non-weight related improvements (like increased energy or a more peaceful relationship with food) might you feel if you changed these behaviors?

Finally, try to view your setbacks as an opportunity for learning rather than as mistakes. Take what you have learned and use it to make a positive change. And remember, you don’t have to wait until tomorrow or Monday. What can you commit to doing today?

Part 2 of this question will be answered in a future newsletter. Stay tuned for tips to help prevent mindless and emotional eating.
 
Do you have a burning nutrition question? Email your question to: question@msnutrition.com and it may be answered in the next newsletter!

February 2015

 

In this issue:


Nutrition Article: Tips for a Healthy Heart

Reader Question: How to Handle Weight Regain

Product Review: Fig Food Co. Tuscan White Bean Soup

Share this Newsletter

Forward
Share
+1
Tweet
Share

Nutrition Product Review

Tuscan White Bean Soup
Fig Food Co. – Tuscan White Bean Soup

Cost:
$4.79 at Whole Foods (for 14.5 oz)
 

What it is

Organic, vegan, kosher soup made with cannellini beans, barley, vegetables, and seasonings. Sold in a microwaveable pouch.

 

My experience

Not quite like homemade, but tastes fresher and more flavorful than any canned soup I’ve tried. Very satisfying too.

 

Pros

Love the simple ingredient list and the nutrition stats.  One serving (1/2 the pouch) has: 150 calories, 3 grams of fat, 6 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein. Bonus points for having only 200 mg of sodium per serving – it’s so hard to find ready-made soup without crazy amounts of sodium that actually tastes good!
 

Cons

The packaging isn’t recyclable. The product is not widely available.
 

Bottom line

This soup was a bit too “lightly salted” for my taste – easily remedied by adding just a bit of salt (and still lower in sodium than most canned soups). I appreciate that the soup is not full of sodium so you have the ability to adjust it to your own tastes and needs. Overall, I really enjoyed this soup. I would definitely buy it again and look forward to trying some of the other flavors.

I purchased this product myself and have not been compensated in any way to write this review.

About Monika


Monika Saigal, MS, RD, CDN is the founder of MS NUTRITION, a nutrition counseling and consulting practice based in New York City.

Her areas of specialty include: eating disorders, weight management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, digestive issues, vegetarian nutrition, general wellness & disease prevention, and nutrition for dancers.

Looking for more nutrition tips? Need help sorting out nutrition fact from fiction? Want Monika's take on hot nutrition topics?
 

Contact Us!


MS NUTRITION
141 E. 55th Street, Ste 11D
New York, NY 10022

Phone: 917-566-4699
Email
Email
Website
Website
Stay Tuned!
 
The next e-newsletter will be sent in May.
forward to a friend

Copyright © 2015 ms nutrition, PC, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up via our website or registration form, or because you are an associate of MS NUTRITION, PC or Monika Saigal, MS, RD, CEDRD-S, CDN.

Our mailing address is:
141 East 55th Street, Suite 11D, New York, NY 10022

You are subscribed as: <<Email Address>>
unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences