Cooking Tips For A Healthy Heart

By Padmapreetham Mahalingam

Friday, October 9, 2015, 16:12 [IST]

If you are a person who constantly reaches for unhealthy junk food then think twice before you nibble since certain foods increase the risk of heart disease. Follow few healthy cooking tips for heart in this article today.

Most of us feel tempted to eat unhealthy food when we are depressed, stressed or anxious, yet it is important to think about our heart health when we are feeling down in the dumps. If you are a person diagnosed with heart disease or high cholesterol then the food that you consume can be dangerous for your heart.

10 Foods That Better Your Heart

If you to want to improve your cardiovascular health then you have to load your diet with healthy nutrients which can in turn help you protect your heart.

It can be tough to change your eating habits after years of consuming unhealthy food yet controlling or fine tuning your diet, can definitely reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In fact with a healthy heart diet you can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 80%.

Red Foods For A Healthy Heart

Here are some healthy cooking tips for the heart.

Light Dairy Products

Low fair dairy products provide health benefits. This is a much healthier choice than full fat dairy products. Whatever may be your daily preference, skimmed milk is definitely a healthy well balanced diet option. When you are baking, try to use plain fat free or low fat yogurt. It is always safer to opt for skimmed milk instead of whole milk and soft margarine instead of butter. The important cooking tip for a healthy heart is to use sparingly high sodium ingredients such as cheese and olives.

Egg Yolks Bad For You

One large egg has 189 milligrams of cholesterol which is mostly found in egg yolk. If you love eating eggs then choose recipes or dishes with egg whites as a replacement for egg yolks. Egg whites are safe and a healthy source of protein.

Low Sodium

Most canned, processed and preserved vegetables have high sodium content. Make sure to look for low sodium veggies or you could even opt for frozen varieties. Try to compare the sodium content on the nutrition facts label of similar products and choose for the product that has a lesser amount of sodium.

If you prefer to buy canned food then the best option is to rinse vegetables under cold water in order to reduce the level of sodium. These are some of the healthy cooking tips for heart.

Replace Salt With Herbs

It is better to replace salt with some dried herbs or salt free seasoning mixes. Try to omit salt when you cook and instead you can add flavour to your food by using herbs and spices. You can even experiment with some of the flavour additions for taste by using lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chillies.

Make Smart Choices

Check labels and try to incorporate foods rich in unsaturated fats, fibre and protein in your daily diet. The best food for healthy heart is to choose vegetables, fish, beans, nuts and seeds since they all are great cholesterol regulators.

Avoid Solid Fat

The other healthy cooking tips for heart is to reduce the amount of solid fats like butter or margarine in your food while cooking or serving. You can also limit solid fat by cutting down fat from your meat by choosing leaner or healthier proteins.