Our food habit has a great impact on our heart's health. Heart-friendly eating

habit can help prevent and manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or

heart failure. If a person is worried about heart disease, one of the most

important things he can do is to start eating a heart-healthy diet.

* Stay away from extra oil:  Whatever the source only 3-4 teaspoon of cooking

oil per day is recommended for a healthy people. There is nothing to convince

yourself, for instance, olive oil is good or soybean oil is bad.

* No extra salt:  Though sodium (table salt) is good, less is best for health. Extra

salt is a big risk factor for high blood pressure which, in turn, increases the risk of

heart disease. Therefore, it is better to choose and prepare foods with little or no

salt.

* Eat more fruits and vegetables: Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables prepared

with very little cooking oil and no extra salt. Dark green, deep orange and yellow

fruits and vegetable are especially good for the heart.

* Eat a variety of fibres or grain product daily: Include whole-grain foods such

as cereals, oats, whole wheat bread and brown rice which contain lots of fibres

and nutrients. All these help in reducing bad fat in the blood.

* Cut back on red meat and source of bad cholesterol (LDL):  Avoid all kind of

red meats (like beef, mutton, bacon, lamb), animal fat, prawn, egg-yolk etc. These

fats and cholesterol-enriched indeed increase the blood cholesterol level which is

dangerous for the heart. Rather, chicken and fish can be preferred as a regular

meal which meets the daily protein as well. Nevertheless, eating smoked and

fried chicken can't be recommended.

* Eat fishes regularly: Eat small fishes as well as sea-fishes as much as you can.

Oily sea-fishes like hilsa, salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines are rich in Omega-3

fatty acid which is a very good friend for your heart.

* Say no to sugar: Sugar is the most vulnerable silent killer for a person. Studies

show sugar is even more dangerous than animal fat as sometimes fat is not

absorbed fully from intestine whereas sugar after fully being absorbed extra

portion is converted into fat and deposited in different organ as well as vessels

that lead to heart disease.

During the first few days, it may seem like there is a lot to adapt. There is nothing

to be worried about, start with some small steps. Over time, making a number of

small changes can add up to a big difference of your heart and health.

Lecturer

Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Popular Medical College, Dhaka.