Changing the family diet due to heart disease

When someone in your family has heart disease, it is important take a close look at everyone’s eating habits. Why change the family diet because of one person?

A heart-healthy diet is good for everyone.
Heart disease tends to run in families. So starting children on healthy eating habits may help them live healthier, maybe longer, lives.

Think low fat/high fiber

A healthy diet is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber.

Low fat/high fiber eating can improve your family's heart health in ways like these:

It can improve cholesterol levels, preventing heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and strokes.
If needed, it can help with weight loss, which in turn will help lower high blood pressure.

How much fat should we eat?

If you're not sure how much fat is healthy for you and your family, talk with your doctor or a nutritionist. Generally, calories from fat should be no more than 30 percent of total calories eaten every day.

Information is readily available to help you make the right choices for you and your family.

Food labels list nutritional information, including fat calories.
Bookstores and libraries stock cookbooks with heart-healthy recipes. Also, see heart smart recipes on Allina.com.
Many restaurant menus note low-fat dishes and nutritional information.

How do we add more fiber?

Always ask your doctor for advice before making any significant changes to your diet. This especially applies to adding more fiber.

Many people notice bloating, cramping or gas when they first add fiber to their diet. Gradually changing your diet can help prevent this.

Start with one of the changes listed below, then wait several days to a week before making another. If one change doesn't seem to work for you, try a different one.

Eat 5 to 7 - or more - servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Fruits high in fiber include apples, berries, figs, oranges, pears and prunes. High-fiber vegetables include broccoli, beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower and green peas.
Replace white bread, heavily processed cereals, pasta and white rice with whole-grain breads and cereals, brown rice and whole-grain pastas. Try 100 percent whole-wheat bread, low fat bran muffins, oatmeal, unsalted popcorn, multiple grain cereals (cooked or dry).
Eat bran cereal for breakfast. Check labels on the packages for the amounts of dietary fiber in each brand. Some cereals may have less fiber than you think.
Add 1/4 cup of wheat bran (miller's bran) to cooked cereal, applesauce or meat loaf.
Eat cooked beans each week.

When you eat more fiber, it's important to drink more fluids. If you don't already drink more than six glasses of liquid a day, drink at least two more glasses of water.