If you have a bad heart, what should you eat less?

If you have a bad heart, eat less of the three whites. The "three whites" actually refer to salt, sugar, and fat.

Salt: Eating too much salt can easily induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Residents in northern China, especially Beijing, have a strong taste for salt, and their daily salt intake is more than 15 grams per person, which is very dangerous. The World Health Organization recommends that the daily salt intake per person should not exceed 5 grams. The 5 grams here refers not only to table salt, but also to the sodium in condiments such as MSG, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Moreover, eating too much salt can increase blood pressure, injure blood vessels and damage the endothelium; it can increase blood sugar, increase the burden on the pancreas, and increase the risk of diabetes; it can also cause calcium loss and lead to osteoporosis. Suggestions: Eat less salty food such as pickles, pickled vegetables, and fermented bean curd; eat more fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains; use lemon juice, onions, ginger and garlic to enhance flavor when cooking, and use less or no salt and soy sauce and other condiments.

Sugar: Eating too much sugar will increase the burden on the heart. Sugar is quickly converted into fat after entering the human body, which can easily damage the heart. And a large amount of sugar will also be converted into triglycerides, which is seriously harmful to cardiovascular health. Studies have found that a high-sugar diet will make the human brain feel "unsatisfied" and increase appetite. In addition, a high-sugar diet will increase the secretion of insulin and induce insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is an important cause of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Recommendation: Eat no more than 50 grams of sugar per day (including sugar in beverages and sugar in food). The amount of food for diabetic patients needs to be adjusted according to their condition. In general, the calories provided by carbohydrates in the total daily dietary calories of diabetic patients should account for 55%-60% of the total calories, and dietary fiber should account for 10%-20%.

Fat: Saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease. Foods rich in saturated fat include: fatty meat, French fries, fried foods, cheese, butter, fast food hamburgers, etc. There are also processed meats such as sausages and luncheon meats and full-fat dairy products. The saturated fat contained in these foods can damage the blood vessel walls, accelerate thrombosis, and increase the risk of heart disease. Recommendation: Eat more foods containing unsaturated fats, such as salmon, sardines, tuna, shrimp, chicken breast, etc. Deep-sea fish (such as cod and salmon) are especially good for the heart and can be eaten twice a week (100 grams each time). In addition, olive oil is a very healthy cooking oil and can be consumed in moderation.

In short, maintaining a balanced diet is the key to health. We should try to reduce the intake of salt, sugar and fat, and increase the intake of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. In addition, we should pay attention to the lightness and diversity of the diet, and not rely too much on a certain food or taste. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is very important for preventing heart disease.

Yang Ying, Department of Cardiology, Baoding First Central Hospital