Feeding your heart: a practical guide to healthy eating

2021-05-10

The saying goes that “we are what we eat”.
And the truth is that what we put into our bodies plays a fundamental role in preventing diseases or, on the contrary, can contribute to their formation.
This May, Heart Month, we bring you a practical guide to healthy eating that focuses on heart health and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases through a balanced diet.
Read on!

It’s important for each of us to eat a diet that suits our needs.
There are some general recommendations for the diet of the Portuguese population as set out in the National Food and Nutrition Council’s “Recommendations for the dietary education of the Portuguese population”, which are listed in this adapted list:

Increased consumption of complex carbohydrates (rice and pasta) and reduced consumption of sucrose (sugar);
Increased fiber intake;
Reducing the consumption of total lipids, especially at the expense of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol;
Reducing sodium (salt) consumption;
Reducing alcohol consumption;
Adequate calcium intake;
Adequate fluoride intake;
Adequate food for energy needs.
Consumption of cereals and their derivatives, such as wholemeal bread, potatoes and legumes;
Increased consumption of vegetables and fresh fruit;
Reduce your consumption of fats, especially solid fats and overheated fats; give preference to olive oil;
Reducing consumption of sugar and sugary products.
Maintaining an adequate weight requires a balance between food intake and physical activity;
A varied diet, divided into several meals a day.

Practical tips for reducing fat consumption:

Try to read the label on the food you buy and choose the product with the lowest fat content;
Reduce the amount of fat you use for cooking, always preferring olive oil over other types of fat (e.g. oils, margarine, butter or lard);
Avoid regular consumption of the following foods: rissoles, croquettes, codfish cakes, samosas and other “salty snacks”;
Avoid puff pastry, quiches, pies and other tarts;
Avoid pastries, e.g. croissants, Berlin balls, cream, etc.
Avoid charcuterie and sausage products (e.g. sausages, ham, chorizo, sausages, pork sausages, paio, chourição, bacon, etc.);
Avoid fast food (e.g. pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.);
Avoid breaded meat, fish, cheese or ham;
Avoid French fries and other fried snacks;
Avoid mayonnaise, mustard, cream sauces, etc.
Avoid “knorr” broths
Avoid pâtés with a lot of mayonnaise.
Avoid cookies and cookies;
Avoid chocolate (sweets, chocolate snacks and chocolate spreads);
Limit the fat used to season food on the plate, always preferring raw olive oil to other sauces;
Avoid frying food; opt for processes that require less fat (e.g. boiling, grilling or stewing).
If you bake it in the oven, add a little fat, preferably olive oil, and discard the sauce that remains on the baking sheet;
Remove all visible fat from food before cooking and also on the plate;
Give preference to fish and lean meats (e.g. poultry and rabbit, always remove the skin) over mammalian meats or other meats with a higher fat content.
Remember that ultra-frozen fish can be a safe and perfectly acceptable alternative to fresh fish;

Consume low-fat milk and milk products (semi-skimmed or skimmed);

Salt

Salt or table salt, chemically known as sodium chloride, is made up of two minerals: sodium and chlorine.
These two minerals are essential for the normal and healthy functioning of our bodies, but the consequences of excessive consumption, particularly of sodium, are numerous and it is therefore essential to use this seasoning sparingly.

The main consequences of excessive salt consumption:

Increased risk of certain types of cancer (e.g. stomach);
Increased risk of hypertension;
Increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (e.g. strokes), acute myocardial infarction;
Overload of kidney function (there is a greater effort made by the kidney to excrete excess sodium);
Increased fluid retention in the body, which leads to weight gain and contributes to the appearance of cellulite;

According to a report published in 2003 by the World Health Organization, the ideal is to consume no more than 5 grams of salt (sodium chloride) per day.
Contrary to what you might think, most of the salt we consume on a daily basis comes not so much from meals cooked at home, but from pre-prepared foods bought outside the home.

Suggestions for increasing consumption of vegetables, legumes and fruit

O low consumption of fruit and vegetables is among the top 10 risk factors for disease and premature death.
Globally, low consumption of fruit and vegetables is responsible for around 19% of gastrointestinal cancers, 31% of ischemic cardiovascular disease and 11% of heart attacks.
Adequate intake of fruit and vegetables prevents cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, nutritional deficiencies and digestive disorders (e.g. constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, etc.).

How much should you consume?

The World Health Organization recommends consuming at least 400g of fruit, vegetables and legumes a day.

Always start lunch and dinner with soup rich in vegetables;
Always try to have salad and vegetables on your plate as a side dish;
Make fruit your dessert par excellence;
Include fresh fruit and some raw vegetables between meals and at breakfast;
If you usually eat sandwiches for lunch, add some salad to them;
If you eat out, avoid snacks high in salt and fat and opt for other foods in your starters, such as nuts, small pieces of fruit, some olives, etc.
Create new culinary preparations that include vegetables, legumes and fruit;
At least 1 of the pieces of fruit you eat every day should be a fruit rich in vitamin C (e.g. oranges, kiwi, mandarins, strawberries, apples);
Try to eat vegetables with bright colors, as they are very rich in vitamins, minerals and other protective agents (e.g. broccoli, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, peppers, carrots…);
Remember that natural fruit juices should be drunk when they are made, otherwise their vitamin content will be considerably reduced. Drinking these juices does not exclude the consumption of fresh fruit.