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How to be Heart Smart with Your
Shopping Cart |
Newswise — It can often be daunting to
decipher what is and isn’t considered
healthy as you steer through grocery store
aisles filled with a potpourri of products,
labels and claims. This can be even more
confusing when it comes to finding foods to
help manage your heart health.
Yet Cathy Fitzgerald, registered dietitian
with MFit, the University of Michigan Health
System’s health promotion division, says
that taking the time learn how to
incorporate a heart-healthy diet into your
lifestyle can pay off by improving your
cholesterol, blood pressure and weight.
“Heart-healthy eating is about making good
choices,” says Fitzgerald. “A basic way to
do that is use the government approved food
guide pyramid that emphasizes the food
groups that we need to include in a
heart-healthy diet.
"More
specifically, what you want to do is work to
include more whole grains, more fruits and
vegetables, low-fat and no-fat dairy
products, as well as lean protein sources.”
Simply educating yourself on what food label
language truly means can steer you in the
right direction when it comes to finding
nutritious foods.
Fitzgerald offers these tips on what to look
for when it comes to heart-healthy eating:
1. The claim, “May reduce the risk of heart
disease.” You can be assured that you are
buying a beneficial product when you see
this on a label. A company cannot merely put
this statement on a food if it wants to.
“This claim means there is scientific
evidence that the Food and Drug
Administration has decided is strong enough
to support it,” explains Fitzgerald.
2. Nutrient content claims. These are
government regulations that a company must
follow to use terms such as “high,” “low” or
“reduced.” For example, a food must have
three grams of fat or less to be considered
low fat, and a product that is high in a
certain nutrient provides 20 percent or more
of the daily value suggested by the FDA.
Since these are regulated claims, you can
feel confident that you are making educated
choices when you select these products,
Fitzgerald says.
3. Foods with fiber. Fiber is important for
the health of the digestive system and for
lowering cholesterol. Look for claims that
say “high in fiber” or “excellent source of
fiber.” These products have at least five
grams of fiber per serving. A food that is
listed as being a “good source” of fiber has
two and a half grams of fiber or more.
Beans, whole grain breads and cereals,
oatmeal, and products with barley in them
are all considered good sources of fiber.
4. Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats are considered
healthy fats to eat, and research has shown
that they can benefit the heart, Fitzgerald
says. Fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel
and trout are good sources of omega fats and
are low in saturated fat.
5. Sterols and stanols. Plant sterols and
stanols are cholesterol-lowering substances
that are added to products like margarine
and salad dressings. Some companies are
beginning to offer them in chew and liquid
form so that they can be taken in more
quickly. Fitzgerald explains that it can be
difficult to find these products because
they are not always labeled clearly. She
suggests reviewing labels to make sure you
are buying a product that states that they
offer the cholesterol-lowering benefits of
plant sterols and stanols.
While there are many beneficial products to
choose from when it comes to heart health,
Fitzgerald also warns against these food
label offenders:
1. Sodium. “When we’re looking at labels
with a heart-healthy eye and considering
sodium it is really important to look for
words like ‘low sodium’ or ‘reduced
sodium’,” says Fitzgerald. This is
especially important in processed and canned
foods. If a food is labeled as “reduced” in
sodium, it has 25 percent less of it than
the original product.
2.Trans fats. “The story on trans fats is
growing every day because they do have an
impact on heart health, and unfortunately it
is a negative effect,” explains Fitzgerald.
Trans fats raise your bad cholesterol and
lower your good cholesterol, and therefore
they should be eaten very sparingly. They
are found in fried foods and in processed
foods that have a long shelf life. The term
“partially hydrogenated oil” is a key
indicator on an ingredients list that the
food contains trans fats.
3. Saturated fat. This is the main dietary
cause of high blood cholesterol, Fitzgerald
notes. Butter, red meat such as hamburger
and pork sausage, and cheese made from whole
milk are among foods with the highest amount
of saturated fat. Fitzgerald recommends
comparing the saturated fat and trans fat
listed on nutrition labels of foods and
selecting the product that has the lowest
sum. Eating low or non-fat dairy products
and lean meats such as loin or round cuts
are ways to control your saturated fat
intake. Also try using more liquid
margarines instead of butter.
Taking the time to investigate food labels
not only can improve your heart health, but
also your overall wellness. Some types of
cancer, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes are
additional conditions that can be prevented
or managed by the foods people choose to
eat.
“Reading the labels is a great way to be
guided toward healthier choices for your
heart and for general reduction of all
chronic diseases today,” says Fitzgerald.
“So think about using the front of the
package as well as the nutrition facts on
the back when you are out shopping.”
For more information on reading food labels,
visit these Web sites:
MFit, the University of Michigan Health
System’s health promotion division: Food
labels
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/wha/wha_nutrlabe_crs.htm
American Heart Association: How to read food
labels
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3007450
NIH: Reading a food label
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/Tipsheets/readthelabel.htm
USDA tips for increasing physical activity
http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/physical_activity_tips.html
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