What Should I Eat?

Many of us love to eat good food and love even more to cook. Unfortunately, we don't eat enough fruits, grains, and vegetables as we should, and face it: We are creatures of habit, family traditions, and culture. Truth to tell, we probably eat too much fried foods, cream sauces, snack foods, fast foods, desserts, and red meats, which contribute to the buildup of fatty plaque in our arteries and put the pounds on.

But the thought of doing without our favorite foods, such as fried chicken, hamburgers, lobster, mousse, lasagna, quesadillas, potato chips, chocolate cake, or ice cream, is downright depressing! However, we must face the fact that eating these foods sparingly (several times a month) or learning how to prepare them in more healthy ways is exactly what it means to prevent heart disease.

Changing your eating habits, tastes, and cooking methods will take time and effort. You'll need to be flexible and open to new tastes, and willing to learn new low-fat cooking methods and recipes. (Start buying or subscribing to Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, or Weight Watchers magazines; they all have great recipes!) You don't have to exist on rice cakes—food changes can be adventurous and fun, and you may even come to prefer the taste of these new foods!

Make the changes gradually, learn how to bake and broil rather than fry foods, and experiment with lots of herbs and spices to add interesting new tastes to your food.

Mediterranean Diet
Research studies show that the Mediterranean diet is very good for your heart. It emphasizes eating breads, pasta and grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, olive oil, and cheese and yogurt each day. It also allows fish (especially salmon) and chicken, eggs, and sweets a few times a week, and red meats a few times a month.

Drinking wine in moderation is permitted (for women, that means one glass a day), but women who have experienced heart problems should not drink any alcoholic beverages. Instead, they can get the same heart-protective benefits in a glass of grape juice that are in a glass of red wine.

Some researchers advise that a non-fat vegetarian diet is more heart-healthy, while others suggest, "Don't eat anything that ever had a face" or "Don't eat anything that ever moved." You are bound to get conflicting advice, so read books to educate yourself about healthy foods and cooking methods. Also, ask your doctor or a registered dietician for advice.