For a healthier heart it is important to reduce the total amount of fat
and to change to foods with less saturated fat. Just switching to products
labelled “high in polyunsaturates” is not enough. The changes which each
person needs to make will vary, but overall we need to eat more fruit,
vegetables, potatoes, rice, pasta, bread and wholegrain cereals and eat less
of those foods which contribute a lot of fat to the diet; full fat dairy
products, red meat and meat products. Some people may need to pay
particular attention to the sort of foods which provide lots of fat combined with
sugar (biscuits and confectionery), or fat combined with salt (savoury snacks).
It’s easy but misleading to start thinking of “good foods” and “bad
foods” but it’s really how much of them we eat and how often we eat them,
that causes problems. Eating for a healthy heart can be a new and exciting
venture, it certainly should not be dull and uninspiring. In fact, many people
find that eating is more enjoyable once they start taking advantage of all the
newly available fruits and vegetables, low fat products and wholemeal
breads plus delicious and unusual ways of using poultry and fish. And there
is no need for the changes to be more expensive. High fat foods like red
meat usually form the most expensive part of the food budget. By eating less
of these and more of the filling and reasonably priced items like bread and
vegetables, extra money is available for fish, poultry or splashing out on
exotic fruit.
Two factors can make a big difference to the amount of fat, particularly
saturated fat, that we eat the type of foods we choose to eat frequently and
the way we cook and prepare them.