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NUTRITION
KOO T E NA I
H E A L T H
. OR G
19
FOOD
LABELS—A
MUST-READ
Your grocery list is long, and
you’re eager to fill your cart
and head home. But as you
check items off your list, are
you checking labels too? If
not, consider changing your
shopping habits—for your
heart’s sake.
The “Nutrition Facts” table
on food labels has informa-
tion you can use to make
heart-friendly choices. So
start at the top of the label
and find the following:
1.
Serving size, number of
servings in the package and
how many calories each
serving has. If you typically
eat two servings instead of
one, you’ll consume twice
the calories, fat and all
the other nutrients in the
product.
2.
Amount of total fat,
saturated fat, trans fat,
cholesterol and sodium in
each serving. Choose foods
with the lowest amounts.
3.
Dietary fiber, vitamins
and minerals each serving
contains. Look for foods
with high amounts of these
healthy nutrients.
For a quick way to tell if
a food has a little or a lot of
a particular nutrient, such
as saturated fat or fiber, use
the Daily Value column. In
general, a Daily Value of
20 percent or more is high;
5 percent or less is low.
American Heart Association; U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
A TRIP TO THE GROCERY STORE IS
more than a mission to stock your kitchen.
Each march up and down the aisles is
an opportunity to help keep your heart
healthy.
Study after study has shown that “diet
really does play a strong role in heart
disease,” says Lona Sandon, a registered
dietitian and spokeswoman for theAmeri-
can Dietetic Association.
Aheart-healthy diet starts with limiting
saturated and trans fats and eating lots of
fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Saturated fat is found mostly in animal
foods; trans fat can be found in processed
baked or snack goods. Both types raise
blood cholesterol, which can clog arteries.
Fruits, vegetables and whole grains, on the
other hand, can help lower LDL cholesterol
(the bad kind) and provide nutrients that
help protect against heart disease.
S H O P P I N G W I S D O M
To shop with heart health in mind, try
these tips from Sandon and other experts:
Pick plenty of produce.
Varying your
choices is a good way to get plenty of nu-
trients; heart-friendly fiber; and potassium,
which can help with blood pressure con-
trol. (High blood pressure is a risk factor
for heart disease.)
Think lean protein.
When choosing
beef, buy cuts marked choice or select. For
poultry, pick chicken or turkey breasts.
Salmon and other fatty fish have heart-
friendly omega-3 fatty acids.
For a meatless protein, beans are a
good, high-fiber option. So are nuts
and seeds, which contain heart-friendly
unsaturated fats. But they’re also high
in calories.
Choose nonfat or low-fat dairy.
Pick
fat-free or low-fat milk, cheese or yogurt.
Full-fat versions are high in saturated
fat. Ice cream is OK to enjoy occasionally.
But for a healthier sweet treat, try frozen
fruit bars.
Home in on whole grains.
Go for fi-
ber-rich, whole-grain breads; pasta; rice;
and cereals, such as oatmeal.
Focus on fats carefully.
Choose un-
saturated fats, such as olive or canola oil,
instead of saturated fats, such as butter.
Look for soft margarines that have no trans
fat. Remember that baked goods, such as
doughnuts and cookies, often have a lot
of trans fat.
K I T C H E N K N O W - H O W
Once you’ve stocked up on heart-healthy
foods, prepare them in heart-friendly
ways. Try these cooking tips from Sandon
and the American Heart Association:
•
Bake, broil or grill your meats on a
rack so the fat drips away.
•
Use lemon juice or spices, instead of
fat-filled sauces, to add flavor to fish and
other meats.
•
Saute or stir-fry with a tiny amount of
canola or peanut oil.
•
Add flavor with herbs and spices,
not salt.
•
Remove visible fat from meats and the
skin from poultry before cooking
or eating.
Feeding Your Heart