Healthy Heart Diet

Heart Disease Diet is extensively used and prescribed in most hospitals for patients with heart disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, hyperlipidemia, and dyslipidaemia. A heart-diet may be employed as a part of a health regimen to either treat or prevent cardiovascular diseases. It will generallyinclude food classified as healthy because of their extensive nutritional benefits.

A cardiac diet will basically aim to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and fiber while lowering consumption of fats and sodium, both prominent in the development of heart disease. The health plan is often change in the long term based on the goals of cost or patient diagnosis. After a patient has been treated using this dietary recommendation he or she will normally be referred to a dietician who will help him or her to maintain this diet.

Normally, a heart or "heart healthy" diet, as it has been considered can be given with the aim of limiting the intake of fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sometimes caffeine. In most cases it will follow the guidelines of the National Cholesterol Education Program, which has issued the following recommendations:

Fiber 20-30 grams per day. 

Trans fat "kept at a low intake." 

Carbohydrates 50-60% of daily calories. 

Total fat 25-35% of daily calories. 

Saturated fat is less than 7% of daily calories. 

Monounsaturated fat up to 20% of daily calories. 

Polyunsaturated fats up to 10% of daily calories. 

Cholesterol less than 200 mg per day. 

Dietary fat, especially saturated and trans fats may actually help to elevate an individual's overall cholesterol level, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides, which can promote the development and accumulation of plaque in blood vessel walls. This building plaque will eventually lead to a reduction in the size of the blood vessel lumen. Saturated fats are predominantly found in animal products. This type of fat has been associated with an increase of low-density lipoprotein levels (LDL), which is strongly correlated with an increased risk of heart disease. Unsaturated fats are different from saturated fat because they have double bonds. They can be substituted in place of saturated fats is preferable because they help lower LDL levels. Heart Disease diets are also low sodium diet. Sodium has been shown to elevate blood pressure and has an additional negative effect on the diuretic properties of certain drugs. Sodium is generally limited to 2000-4000 mg per day, compared to the patients diagnosis and medical treatment. Many heart diet not only inhibits sodium and fat but also caffeine. This is adopted because caffeine is a stimulant and can affect the condition deteriorated in the heart.

Basically a cardiac diet considers both the benefits of limiting certain types of food and to increase consumption of healthy foods and nutrients.