Foods and Diet for healthy heart
If the wrong diet can promote heart disease, the right one can reduce the risk. This is true, even in the face of such unalterable risk factors as advancing age and a fanuly history of heart attacks.
There is nothing radical about a heart- healthy diet; in fact, it’s the same common- sense balanced regimen that protects against cancer, adult-onset diabetes, and obesity. Complex carbohydrates, especially whole-grain breads and cereals, beans and other legumes, along with ample fresh fruits and vegetables form the foundation. About 10 to 12 percent of daily calories should come from protein foods—lean meat, fish, poultry (without the skin), egg whites, and a combination of grains and legumes (beans and rice, for instance, together make up a complete source of protein). Saturated and trans fats, sugars, and salt should be used sparingly.
Ideally, smart eating should be instilled during childhood, which is when atherosclerosis— the clogging of arteries with fatty deposits—begins. It takes 20 to 30 years—in some cases even longer—for the vessels to become clogged enough to produce symptoms. By that time. however, it may be too late; in a distressing number of cases, the first indication of heart disease is a fatal heart attack.
