Cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack, stroke, or high blood pressure, typically develops because of too much consumption of sodium and cholesterol. To protect against cardiovascular problems, it is recommended to reduce your sodium intake. This means cutting back, or even eliminating, your consumption of processed food, which is known to be high in sodium, among other unhealthy substances.
"So, when you think about canned food, those TV dinner-type foods, anything that’s packaged and processed, a lot of times, there will be a decent amount of sodium in those," said Laura Acosta, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) lecturer in dietetics in food science and human nutrition. "So really just try to stick with your fresh, minimally processed food – fruits and vegetables are a great way to start."
Additionally, you must maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels. High blood cholesterol can also result in heart disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one in three adults in the U.S. has high blood cholesterol.
Dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol are different things. Acosta explained that dietary cholesterol refers to the foods you consume, while blood cholesterol involves how much cholesterol you have in your body.
You can lower your blood cholesterol, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol, by limiting your intake of saturated fats and increasing your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, and dietary fiber. Here are other heart-healthy foods that you can add to your diet:
Choosing fresh foods not only promotes improved health, but also increases nutrient and flavor profiles. Processing foods, such as canning, drying, or freezing, can depreciate their quality of nutrients, fiber, flavor, and even natural color. It may also remove the food’s antioxidant content. Moreover, processed food contains hidden ingredients – such as added sugar, sodium, preservatives, additives, flavoring, and coloring – that are bad for your health. Buying fresh, raw produce is also cheaper than choosing processed items. The more steps needed to process a food item, the more expensive it gets.
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