A proper diet helps to take care of the heart

The heart is both the most admired and the most feared organ. Keeping it in good condition is a guarantee of optimal health.

Take note of these nutritional tips that you can easily include in your routine and that will help you have a strong and healthy heart.

• Choose plant products. You must include fruits and vegetables in your diet. 
• Have a high-fiber diet. Replace refined products with whole ones (bread, cereals, pasta, rice, etc.). This will help you have normal cholesterol and sugar levels in your blood and regulate intestinal transit.

• Reduced the consumption of salt and seasoned foods. You can use aromatic herbs instead (rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic, oregano, etc.) to give your meals a quite pleasant taste.

• Avoid frozen, canned and precooked foods, as well as fast foods and high-salt foods.

• Preferably, use monounsaturated (olive oil) or polyunsaturated fats (soy, corn, sunflower). They are beneficial as they help reduce total cholesterol and LDL “bad” cholesterol and increase HDL “good” cholesterol.

• Eat blue fish at least twice a week.

• Reduce saturated and trans fats as much as possible (sausages, palm oil, bacon, lard, industrial bakery, pastries, snacks, etc.).

• Reduce the consumption of red meat and increase white meat such as unskinned chicken and rabbit.

• Take low-fat foods such as milk, yogurts, cheese, etc.

• Avoid stimulating drinks such as alcohol, coffee or tea.

• Watch the way in which you cook food. Choose cooking techniques such as en papillote, steaming, grilling or baking and reduce fried, battered and sauced foods.

Complement a healthy diet with physical exercise and good rest, and you will keep your heart bomb-proof.