Experts have identified five diets that may improve heart health and protect against hypertension. One of them even received the maximum score - 100 points out of 100.
To keep your heart healthy, you need to not only give up bad habits, watch your sleep and exercise. Nutrition also plays an important role here. Some foods can protect the heart from dangerous pathologies, while some, on the contrary, make it weaker.
American Heart Association (AHA) developedNutritional recommendations to help make your hardest-working muscle organ stronger and healthier. Experts ranked diets that are healthy and harmful for the heart, rating them on a 100-point scale.
Diet
The acronym DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. As scientists have found, this diet will not only help you lose weight, but also strengthen your heart and lower blood pressure if you suffer from hypertension .
To follow the DASH diet, your diet should be as low as possible in salt, added sugar, alcohol, and processed foods (fast food, sausage, chips). Ideally, you should abandon them completely.
The diet must include:
vegetables - 4 to 5 servings daily. One serving: 1 cup of raw leafy green vegetables, or half a cup of raw/cooked vegetables, or half a cup of vegetable juice;
fruits - 4 to 5 servings daily. One serving - 1 medium fruit, or half a glass of frozen/canned fruit, or half a glass of fruit juice;
grains - from 3 to 6 servings per day. One serving is one slice of bread or half a glass of rice or pasta;
low-fat or low-fat dairy products - 2-3 servings per day. One serving - 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 30 grams of cheese;
nuts, seeds, legumes - 4 to 5 servings per week. One serving: 1/3 cup nuts, 2 tablespoons peanut butter or seeds, 1/2 cup cooked beans.
Pescetarian diet
Pescetarians refuse any animal products in favor of fish and seafood. With this diet, you cannot eat eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, drink milk and kefir.But you can eat:
vegetables and fruits;
whole grains;
fish and seafood.
Fish (freshwater and sea) and seafood are the main source of protein for a pescetarian ; these products account for a quarter of his diet. Half the menu consists of fruits and vegetables, and the remaining quarter consists of whole grains and sources of other complex carbohydrates. This diet helps lower blood cholesterol levels and get rid of attacks of hypertension.
Mediterranean diet
This diet helps not only strengthen your heart, but also generally feel good, avoid gaining extra pounds , and even prolong your life .
It contains:
olive oil and olives;
fresh vegetables;
Fish and seafood;
meat;
any greens;
pasta and rice
Doctors note: this diet is rich in healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. It is best to eat often, but in small portions. And don't forget to drink as much clean water as possible .
Vegetarian diet
Vegetarianism has several varieties. Scientists decided to take as a basis the principle that a person refuses animal protein, replacing it with plant protein . It turns out that you can eat:
vegetables and fruits;
tofu cheese;
legumes;
cereals;
mushrooms;
nuts and seeds;
soy;
fish (this is individual, some people refuse it too).
Vegan diet
This is one of the strictest diets and is often used for rapid weight loss. A person must give up any products of animal origin; one can only eat what grows on the earth. For example:
roots;
leafy vegetables and greens;
fruits;
berries;
cereals;
nuts and seeds;
legumes;
mushrooms;
seaweed;
natural yeast.
This diet is difficult to follow for a long time or outside the home, scientists note. In addition, a vegan diet contributes to vitamin B12 deficiency, which can lead to anemia. Therefore, it must be agreed with your doctor.
The scientists also evaluated low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets. They scored from 64 to 72 points. Experts have concerns that low-fat diets eliminate all fat, while cardiologists call for replacing saturated fats with healthier unsaturated fats.
The lowest rating was for the popular keto diet: it was rated 31 points out of 100. The goal of this diet is to transfer the body from the usual type of energy production from carbohydrates to fuel from fats. These processes do not occur simultaneously and require metabolic adaptation, which implies a restructuring of the hormonal system, enzymatic reactions and a number of other processes.
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