Transcription:
What's On Your Plate? Good Nutrition for Heart Health

Melanie Cole (Host): Heart-healthy eating is such an important way to lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. My guest today is Kim Brown. She's a Registered Dietician/Nutritionist and a Certified Diabetes Educator in the Community Education Department of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. Kim, what does it even mean to eat heart healthy? What does that mean?

Kim Brown (Guest): Heart healthy means that we're following a diet and lifestyle that prevents heart disease. We're talking about adding in more fruits and vegetables and grains like brown rice, whole wheat, oatmeal, barley, and rye. We're adding in more beans, legumes, peas, and lentils, nuts. We're switching to fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and we're drinking more water. Also, we're moving more. More physical activity. Currently, the recommendations are to exercise for 150 minutes at a moderate pace, such as walking. That would equate to about five walks per week at about 30 minutes or 75 minutes of higher intensity exercise like running. That would equate to maybe three days a week, maybe 25 minute runs.

Host: Can eating a heart-healthy diet actually help reduce or prevent heart disease or lower blood pressure, diabetes? Can it really help with those things?

Kim: It does all of those things. I wanted to talk about what the American Heart Association recommends. It recommends the DASH eating plan. DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. What that is is an eating plan and sodium guidelines. What they recommend is to eat lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and that's basically foods that come from animal sources and total fat. Total fat is going to be bad fat and good fat together, but they want you to reduce your total fat. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, again low fat or fat-free dairy products, include whole grains, lean meats like fish, poultry, and also nuts, and reducing your red meat and your sugar-containing beverages. It also recommends stricter sodium guidelines. Currently, what they recommend is about 2300 milligrams of sodium. That's considered the highest level acceptable for healthy Americans. But, lowering your sodium intake to 1500 milligrams can lower your blood pressure even more.

Host: Kim, I think I know what you're going to say is the answer to this, but what are some of the biggest myths about heart-healthy foods that you hear from people when they say, "I don't really want to eat some of those things"?

Kim: One of the things — when it comes to sodium, some people ask, "Well, I heard that we don't really need to restrict sodium." Sodium restriction is not appropriate for everyone. Certain people with certain diagnoses or a certain age, restricting sodium might not be appropriate. I always recommend that you go to your doctor first and have your labs drawn, have your blood pressure checked to see if reducing sodium is even appropriate for you. Some people may inadvertently be reducing their sodium, and they don't need to reduce sodium anymore.

Host: We read a lot about antioxidants. How do they promote good heart health? What are some of the foods that contain antioxidants?

Kim: As recommended already, fruits and vegetables are key to adding in more antioxidants. They're the ones that contain more antioxidants that reduce free radicals. Just a quick education on free radicals. Basically, when the body digests food, the body goes through many, many different chemical reactions throughout the day. The end products are free radicals. Free radicals are basically very unstable electrons that like to ravage the body and tear apart healthy cells. When you include more fruits and vegetables, you reduce that activity.

Host: People hear about cholesterol and its contribution to heart disease. What's the best way to reduce the amount of cholesterol in your diet? What effect does that have on heart health?

Kim: Okay, so, as mentioned, blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight, those are three big parts of the heart disease equation. If you're reducing animal products, you're reducing your red meats, and you're swapping out low-fat dairy products you're going to reduce your cholesterol intake. Therefore, part of that equation.

Host: What foods do you want to keep on hand because some people think a heart-healthy diet is hard to achieve. Salads are more difficult; vegetables have to be prepared. What's your best advice for keeping food on hand that people can get to and use readily that will promote good heart health?

Kim: I agree. It can be really hard. People think that you have to do elaborate preparations. The fact remains at the grocery stores, there are so many fresh foods that have already been cut up and prepackaged for you. There is nothing wrong with eating these foods. In fact, it's preferable to grab fresh foods that have been cut, peeled, packaged versus running to fast food.

Host: Are organic foods more effective at promoting heart health than non-organic food?

Kim: Not necessarily. There are some foods that contain more pesticides, but in general, fruits and vegetables are going to help your health so much better than other choices like, as mentioned, going to fast food.

Host: And one of my favorite questions, Kim, is it true that a glass of red wine can be good for your heart?

Kim: Actually, if you're already doing that, that's fine. I want to talk a little bit about alcohol. If you are drinking red wine, that's fine. There are some alcohol recommendations in terms of servings per day that the American Heart Association recommends. They recommend one glass of red wine or whatever alcohol of your choice or two drinks for men. One for women, two for men. The American Heart Association does recommend that if you are not drinking now do not go out and start drinking red wine to try to help your heart.

Host: Now, as far as food labels — when we're looking at the food labels, what's the difference between sugars and added sugar, and what does sugar have to do with heart health?

Kim: That is a great question. The new labels are supposed to have added sugars on the label as part of the total sugars. Added sugars are kind of how it sounds, cane sugars, syrups, anything that is added into the processing of food or even at the dinner table. Naturally occurring sugars, however, are under sugars and will make up that total sugars. Naturally occurring sugars are found in fruits and milk. Not all sugars on the label are created equal. That's why the label now depicts added sugars separately from sugars. Just to be clear, you want to reduce the amount of added sugars, and that's why it's now on the label so you can make a good choice.

Host: Kim, since diabetes and heart disease are so closely linked when we're talking about foods that are good for your heart and foods that are good for diabetes some people have questions about that word carbs, which gets a bad rep. But not all carbs are created equal. As you mentioned, fruits and vegetables, those are considered carbohydrates. They worry about lentils and beans. Where does all this fit into a low glycemic diet to help our heart health?

Kim: That's a very good question. Yes, they are linked together. Diabetes and heart disease are very much linked. What I usually recommend, whether you have diabetes, you're trying to lose weight, you're trying to eat for good heart health, trying to prevent cancer, if you're into sports we recommend the My Plate. I'll try to draw a visual for what the My Plate looks like. You can also go to MyPlate.gov to visually see it online. If you're using the My Plate method and you can visualize a plate, you fill up half your plate with fruits and vegetables, preferably all vegetables on one half, but half fruit and vegetables are just fine. A quarter of your plate, whole grains or starches. Yes, not all grains and starches are created equal, but if you are following portion control, which the My Plate provides, and you're putting a quarter of your plate as a grain or starch you're still controlling your total carbohydrate content. The other quarter is lean protein. Yes, if you follow the My Plate and a quarter of your plate was whole grains or starches and a quarter of your plate is fruit, you're still only getting in two carbohydrate servings. When it comes to educating diabetes, a typical pattern for carbohydrates is about two or four servings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That falls right in there.

Host: Wrap it up for us, Kim, because it's such important information not only this month but all year around. For heart-healthy eating what's your best advice, and what would you like people to know about the ease of eating foods that are heart healthy and just healthy, good for our bodies?

Kim: The main message I want to say is what you want to eat more of and what you want to remove. It's focusing on what you want to eat more of. Add in fruits, vegetables, and grains. Add in beans, legumes, and nuts. Make out those healthy swaps with your dairy products. Fat-free or low fat for the full-fat versions. Drink more water, and do less of this. Eat less red meat, less processed foods. Processed foods contain saturated fat, and cholesterol, and the trans fat that contribute to heart health. Remove the full-fat dairy products. Remove the whole milk, and the yogurt, and the cheese. Less sugars especially added sugar.

Host: That's great advice and something that we all should do really not only just for heart health. All year round it's just great advice. Thank you so much, Kim, for being on with us today. You're listening to It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. For more information, please visit HenryMayo.com, that's HenryMayo.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for tuning in.