February 4, 2025 • 28 mins
Unlock the secrets to safeguarding your heart and reducing your risk of heart disease with practical lifestyle changes! By tuning in, you'll discover how up to 80% of cardiovascular diseases are preventable through everyday actions. Join me, Leonila Campos, a registered dietitian, as we confront the grim fact that heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. We explore how habits like diet, exercise, and smoking influence heart health and highlight the significant dangers of plaque buildup in the arteries. With Heart Health Month as our backdrop, we break down key risk factors and offer actionable steps you can take to prioritize your heart's wellbeing.
Prepare to be enlightened on the profound impact of dietary choices on cardiovascular health. We'll uncover the hidden hazards of refined carbs and trans fats lurking in your pantry, subtly sabotaging your health goals. Learn about the innovative 3-2-1 nutrition method, which emphasizes a balanced intake of lean proteins, vegetables, and whole grains, seamlessly aligning with the Mediterranean diet's heart-healthy principles. We'll also spotlight powerhouse foods like fatty fish, leafy greens, and berries, detailing their roles in fortifying your heart. From managing portions of calorie-dense nuts to integrating omega-3-rich options into your meals, this episode is packed with insights and practical advice to empower your journey towards a healthier heart.
Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast and share with a friend. If you would like to know more about my services, please message at fueledbyleo@gmail.com
My YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SqBP44jMNYSzlcJjOKJdg
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Simple
Nutrition Insights Podcast.
I am your host, leonila Campos,registered dietitian, and I am
really excited to start February, so this episode is actually
airing on February 3rd.
I am recording it and releasingit.
It has been a pretty busy fewweeks and so I'm a little bit
(00:22):
behind with my post podcastrecording, but anyway, we're
making it happen here, my people.
So today's episode is in regardsto heart health.
So February is actually hearthealth month, and so I wanted to
really focus on today's episodeon heart health.
How can we take care of ourhearts and just to give you a
(00:45):
little bit of statistics to youas to why is it so important to
take care of our heart.
So it's the perfect time totalk about that how nutrition
plays a role in keeping ourhearts strong and preventing
heart disease.
Here's why Heart disease is theleading cause of death
worldwide.
So, according to the Center forDisease Control and Prevention,
(01:06):
in the US alone, a person diesevery 30 seconds from
cardiovascular disease.
That's heart disease.
That's more than 695,000 deathseach year, accounting for one
in every five deaths.
Globally.
The World Health Organizationreports that heart disease
(01:26):
claims about 17.9 million livesannually.
That's a significant number.
But here's the good news Up to80% of cardiovascular diseases
can be prevented with the rightlifestyle choices, including a
heart healthy diet.
So today we'll break down thebest foods for heart health,
which foods to limit and simpleways to improve your heart
(01:49):
health through nutrition.
So stay tuned and let's getstarted.
Before we get into food, let'stalk about what causes heart
disease.
Heart disease develops whenplaque builds up in your
arteries, making it harder forblood flow.
This increases the risk ofheart attacks, strokes and high
(02:10):
blood pressure.
Some key risk factors includepoor diet, high in saturated
fats, trans fats and processedfoods, lack of physical activity
, smoking and excessive alcoholconsumption, high cholesterol
and high blood pressure,diabetes and obesity.
While genetics play a role,your daily choices are the
(02:31):
biggest determining factor, andthese are things that we can
change right, these aremodifiable, these are
preventative.
Well, these are things that wehave control over.
Now let's get into the foodsthat can help lower our risk for
heart disease and improve ourcardiovascular health Fatty fish
so fatty fish, like salmon,mackerel, sardines, tuna.
(02:52):
They are rich in omega-3 fattyacids, which help reduce
inflammation and lowertriglycerides.
Studies show that eating fishtwice a week can lower heart
disease risk by 30%.
Now fish twice a week can lowerheart disease risk by 30%.
Now, if we are vegan,plant-based, or we just don't
(03:15):
eat fish, we still can get ouromega-3 fatty acids from plant
sources like walnuts and chiaseed, ground, flax seeds, or we
can also do an omega-3supplement containing DHA and
EPA.
Of course, you always want toconsult with your healthcare
provider, your dietician, tomake sure that you choose the
right one right in, to make surethat if you do need it, you add
that accordingly.
Leafy greens, spinach, kale,switch chard they are high in
(03:38):
nitrates, so it's different fromnitrites right, which are often
recommended to avoid or limitbecause they have been shown to
contribute to cancer.
So these are naturallycompounds right found in these
leafy greens which actually helplower blood pressure.
So nitrates you also findnitrates in beads, now
(03:59):
oftentimes it's more so nitricoxide that helps the blood flow
to or the vessels to be moreflexible and for blood flow to
circulate better.
So leafy greens, spinach, kale,swiss chard beets are amazing
sources for that.
They also contain antioxidantslike vitamin K that prevent
(04:20):
artery hardening.
Now there is someconsiderations here to keep in
mind that if you are on certainmedications right, vitamin K
oftentimes is not recommended toincrease significantly.
So if you are already eatingsome of these foods and you're
used to eating some of thesefoods, that usually is not a
concern.
Oftentimes it's a concern ifyou are taking some of these
(04:43):
medications and your doctor willtell you and you start adding a
ton of these foods.
Right, it's not that if you'retaking a medication to you know
to thin your blood, right, forexample, or to prevent clotting,
it would have too much vitaminK, right, which is essentially
the opposite and that could be aproblem, right?
But because you are on thatspecific medication.
But if you're not, adding someof these leafy greens can help,
(05:10):
as it does provide some of thesehigh antioxidant components
that helps with inflammation,and then also the vitamin K that
helps with preventing thehardening of the arteries.
Blueberries, strawberries,raspberries, boysenberries
there's all kinds of berries.
They are packed withpolyphenols and flavonoids which
reduce inflammation and improveblood flow vessel function.
A study in the American Journalof Clinical Nutrition found
(05:32):
that people who ate or who eatthree servings of berries per
week have a 30% lower risk ofheart attack.
So berries are your friends.
Add berries whenever you wantwith your breakfast, with your
snacks, with your lunch wheneveryou want to add them.
They also provide a good amountof fiber and those antioxidants
(05:54):
, too, that also help your cellsat a cellular level and help
with inflammation and oxidation.
So berries have so many amazingcomponents Nuts and seeds like
almonds, walnuts, flax seeds,chia seeds they are rich in
healthy fats, fiber andmagnesium, which support heart
health.
(06:15):
Studies show that eating ahandful of nuts daily can reduce
heart disease risk by 20%.
So let's be a bit more specifichere, right?
Sometimes I do see peopleeating handfuls throughout the
day.
You still have to keep in mindthat, even though they are
packed with healthy fats, fiber,magnesium, selenium and other
minerals, we cannot just bemindlessly eating them
(06:37):
throughout the day, right,because they are higher in our
healthy fats, which are going tobe higher in calories.
So if that is also a concernthat you have, keep those things
in mind and you only need anounce, right, which is one
serving an ounce or a quartercup of these healthy fats or
these nuts and seeds right, toget most of the nutrients, you
can add two, you know, twoservings, if you like, for
(07:00):
variety, but it's a good idea toadd them also, being mindful of
those things too.
So we cannot just add themmindlessly.
Whole grains like oats, quinoa,brown rice, whole wheat.
They are high in fiber, whichlowers LDL, which is the bad
cholesterol.
Research shows that people whoeat at least three servings of
(07:20):
whole grains daily have a 22%lower risk of heart disease.
And I'm going to talk aboutfiber a little bit more in a
moment, but I want you to keepfiber in mind Legumes, lentils,
chickpeas, black beans.
They are rich in plant-basedprotein and fiber, which help
control blood sugars andcholesterol.
Eating legumes four times aweek can cut heart disease risk
(07:45):
by 14%.
You're going to like this one.
I hope this is bringing you alittle bit of joy.
Dark chocolate at least 70%cocoa contains flavonoids that
improve circulation and lowerblood pressure, and actually a
Harvard study found that peoplewho eat dark chocolate five
(08:05):
times per week that's, you know,once daily almost have a lower
risk of heart disease.
So let's talk a little bitabout fiber here Now.
Oftentimes, when I have clientscome to me either for
cholesterol management or theyhave high cholesterol or high
triglycerides, or if they havehigh LDL, which is the bad
(08:28):
cholesterol, and low HDL, whichis your good cholesterol the
first thing that I do is that Iask lots of questions.
I always ask lots of questionsbecause I want to understand the
whole.
You right, I want to be able toreally dig deep and understand
the root cause as to why we'rehaving these issues.
So oftentimes we think, well,we're eating enough veggies,
(08:51):
right, or we're eating.
I should be eating enough fiberbecause I'm eating all kinds of
salads.
The reality here is that mostof the times, salads like if we
just are adding romaine lettuceor iceberg lettuce or whatever,
and we have a big bowl and thatis all we add.
That's not a lot of fiber.
It usually has like maybe onegram of fiber and we need about
(09:14):
30 grams of fiber.
So it doesn't mean that we haveto eliminate those foods, right
, but we have to add morenutrition to those salads, right
?
Let's add some cucumbers, let'sadd some berries.
Let's add some chickpeas rightfor that extra fiber and plant
protein sources.
Let's add some chopped walnutsright from some of those
omega-3s.
(09:34):
So when you add more nutritionto that salad, right, then you
are definitely adding more fiber, more nutrition, which is going
to help you to feel moresatiated.
At the same time, it's going tohelp you lower your cholesterol
.
Fiber plays a huge role in somany areas of our lives,
specifically in cholesterolmanagement.
Because, again, fiber acts aslike a sponge right, when we eat
(10:01):
high-fiber foods, that highfiber is going to be going into
the digestive tract, right, andthat acts as a sponge and
absorbs all of that cholesterolat the same time.
Clean our intestines, right,and we get rid of that extra
cholesterol, extra blood sugar,through the stool.
And so fiber again plays a hugerole.
(10:21):
We have to be able to be awareof how much fiber we're having
and where the fiber is comingfrom.
Right, again, we can absolutelyhave lots of salads if we want
to, but we have to be strategic,as while we're adding to that
salad, to make sure that we'rehaving enough fiber.
Otherwise, we can have thesesalads right Volume-wise, we
(10:42):
feel satiated, but we're notgetting enough fiber.
The other thing, too right andthat's going to come next is
that we have to be aware ofwhere our cholesterol is coming
from.
Now, our bodies makecholesterol already.
So if we were to just eliminateall the cholesterol-containing
foods, we'll be okay.
Right, because our body makesit, but we also get it from
(11:07):
everything that comes from ananimal.
It's going to have cholesterolas well as saturated fat.
Essentially, that's what weneed to be more cautious of.
Now there's one plant sourceactually two plant sources that
also provide saturated fat, andthat's coconut and palm palm
(11:28):
tree either oil or the actualfruit.
So if we have high cholesterol,right, and we've been diligent
about changing our nutrition,but we have high intake of
coconut, right, that could alsocontribute to our saturated fats
.
Even the plant source you knowcontaining saturated fat can
also affect our LDL levels.
(11:49):
Okay, so let's go into foods tolimit right, or to be cautious
about when we have highcholesterol or when we have
heart disease or cardiovasculardisease.
The first one is processed andred meat.
Now, this is more so becausethey're high in saturated fat
and sodium, which can raiseblood pressure.
(12:10):
But there's also studies thatlink frequent consumption to
these processed and red meats toa 42% increased risk of heart
disease.
So when you think of your delimeats, your bacon, your hot dogs
, hot dog links, spam thosetypes of processed red meats.
(12:32):
The second one is sugary drinks, sodas, coffee, energy drinks.
More so because they are linkedto obesity because of the high
intake or the high amount ofsugar and calories that can also
contribute to diabetes and hightriglycerides.
So consuming one sugary drinkper day raises heart disease
(12:53):
risk by 20%.
Now, if you have two sugarydrinks, that's 40% increase.
Right, oftentimes, as we arereally being aware of where our
calories are coming from, whereis the saturated fat is coming
from or the other possiblereasons as to why we're having
cardiovascular disease maybebecause our triglycerides are
(13:15):
high.
Oftentimes, if that is comingfrom a sugary drink, decreasing
that amount right, the frequencyor the type is really going to
decrease our risk for heartdisease.
Right, as we are seeing here,that one sugary drink per day
raises heart disease by 20%.
Right.
Now, your body, our bodies, areso amazing that you're not
(13:36):
going to see that right away.
Right, heart disease it's achronic condition, just like
diabetes, just like obesity, andso you're not going to see that
right away, but you will see ina matter of years, right, and
so as we continue to do that,we're continuing to increase our
risk.
So making those smaller changescan make a huge impact in our
(13:58):
overall health.
Number three refinedcarbohydrates.
Right, like when we think aboutwhite flours, lots of pastries
or baked goods.
Right, Because they cause bloodsugar spikes and insulin
resistance, which can harm theheart as well.
Not only to mention right thatif we're having these sugar
(14:19):
spikes, right, the sugar rollercoasters, and we have that
response of the insulin andwe're not utilizing that blood
sugar right, or we're notutilizing that sugar for energy
because we're not exercising orbecause, you know, we're
sedentary, that insulin is not.
The role of the insulin is notonly to lower your blood sugar,
(14:39):
but it's also to create fatcells.
Right, because there's ourliver cells, our muscle cells,
our brain cells are alreadysaturated with sugar or glycogen
, which is a store form of sugarthat your body's like.
Well, they're saturated.
Where do we put this sugar?
Right, we have to create fatcells to be able to store it
(15:00):
there.
So insulin has that role right,and so it would keep having
these sugar spikes.
That's what insulin is doing.
Trans fats Trans fats you'regoing to find them in fried
foods, margarine, processedbaked goods and trans fats.
There are some trans fatsnaturally occurring in animal
(15:21):
foods, but these are trans fatsthat have been chemically
created by the food industry tobe able to mass produce food but
also to make food moreshelf-stable.
And so when you look at yournutritional facts label, you're
going to see all these nutrientsright, you're going to see
(15:44):
total fat, saturated fat, transfat, carbohydrates, et cetera.
On the trans fat, you're alwaysgoing to see it as zero, right?
But that's because if FDA, asthe food industry, to minimize
the amount of trans fats used infoods and to not go over 0.5
grams per serving, because theyhave seen how impactful it is in
(16:09):
cardiovascular health, but thatdoesn't mean that it doesn't
have trans fat.
It just means that it has lessthan 0.5 grams and so they don't
have to put it on the foodlabel.
However, we as consumers have todo our due diligence and look
at the ingredients list and seeif there's something called
partially or fully hydrogenatedoils, that is a trans fat.
(16:33):
So anytime that you seepartially or fully hydrogenated
oils, whatever the oil is, thatis a trans fat.
Now again, excuse me, itdoesn't mean that it has more
than 0.5 grams, but if it's aproduct that we're going to be
eating day after day, that isgoing to be accumulated to more
than 0.5 grams, which is goingto contribute to heart disease.
(16:54):
So and here's why because thesetrans fats increase LDL
cholesterol while lowering yourHDL cholesterol, and that
because if you don't have enoughHDL cholesterol, which is what
helps to lower the badcholesterol, right, and we have
this imbalance and the more thatwe have them right, the higher
(17:15):
the LDL cholesterol is going tobe.
So it's important that we keepthose things in mind and we do
our due diligence when we'rebuying products.
I would suggest probablyreading that reading not only
the nutrition facts label, butthe ingredients list as well
when you're buying products, tomake sure that it doesn't have
any trans fats.
So, essentially, these, in anutshell, are some of the foods
(17:40):
that we have to be cautiousabout, right, when we're trying
to prevent cardiovasculardisease, when we're trying to
lower LDL or total cholesterol,and just overall, to protect our
hearts, our vessels right,which go everywhere.
Okay, let's put some of thesetips into practice, right, and
(18:01):
how to make the best out of thisepisode.
So I did an episode and I'mgoing to bring it back just as a
reminder, but I did a podcastepisode on my 3-2-1 nutrition
method, right, which I useessentially with every single
client that I get, because it'spretty simple to follow, right.
(18:22):
Obviously, we can add morenutrition to those meals, but
this is like a starting guide,right?
So the idea is to add threeounces of protein, right Lean
sources of protein in each meal.
So if you're adding animalsources, right, try to stay with
the leaner sources as much asyou can.
You know, if you want chickenbreast, if you want turkey, if
(18:45):
you want lean beef, as well asadding some plant sources, right
, you want to be able to addplant proteins at least twice a
week because those plant sourcesare not going to add any
cholesterol, any saturated fat.
So if you're choosing your tofu, your tempeh, your seitan, your
aromama beans, legumes right,they're not adding any saturated
fat.
So if you're choosing your tofu, your tempeh, your seitan, your
aromama beans, legumes right,they're not adding any saturated
(19:06):
fat, no cholesterol or transfats right, because they don't
have those.
Those only from most of yourplant sources, I'm sorry, most
of your animal sources, with theexception again of coconut that
will have higher amounts ofsaturated fat.
So try to have at least threeounces of protein, right.
Lean sources, your two cups ofvegetables, you know.
Try to add some spinach, somekale, different colors, right,
(19:29):
keeping in mind that we want tomake sure we're adding those
throughout the day to increaseour fiber.
Your fiber only comes fromplant sources, so you want to be
able to add them at everysingle meal, if possible, and
then you want your one servingof carbohydrates, preferably
whole grain like quinoa, brownrice.
If you want to add sweet potatoor regular potato, right, those
(19:50):
are some options to you andthen you have a balanced meal.
If you want to refresh it onthe five food groups right,
don't hesitate to go back tothat episode from last year, and
that's where I talk about thefive food groups and adding some
of these other food groups intothis method to have more of a
complementary type of meal.
Now I want to say that lastweek, I did an episode on the
(20:17):
different diets right in 2025 inthe US report, and the
Mediterranean diet usually comespretty strong year after year,
and that's because theMediterranean diet right.
It serves as a guide forcardiovascular health, but also
because it basically adds allthe foods that I mentioned right
, that help with our hearthealth.
(20:38):
They follow that right.
So lots of vegetables, healthyfats or lean proteins or whole
grains, and so if you wantsomething more structured to
follow, try doing theMediterranean diet right and
fitting in some of the foodsthat you enjoy to make it more
personable.
There's research that showsthat this Mediterranean diet
(20:59):
reduces heart disease risk by upto 30%, right?
So if you're wanting somethingmore visual, right.
There's so many resources outthere that show you what the
Mediterranean diet is, so youcan absolutely start there as a
guide.
The other factor that we have tokeep in mind is limiting salt
and added sugar.
We want to aim for less than2,300 milligrams of sodium per
(21:23):
day, which is about one teaspoonof salt a day.
Now, if you already have highblood pressure, the
recommendation is less than1,500 milligrams of sodium a day
, and that's because, if we addmore sodium right, that makes
your heart work harder becausethe kidneys are retaining more
water and that increases bloodpressure, which affects your
(21:46):
heart.
And so, if we already have highblood pressure, the
recommendation for sodium is1,500 milligrams or less.
If there are no issues, thegeneral recommendation is less
than 2,300 milligrams of sodiumper day.
It's so dependent.
If you're really active, if youlive in a really humid place or
if you're sweating all the time, there might be some changes
(22:11):
there, but this is, for thegeneral population, general
guidelines here.
Oftentimes and I do hear thisoften with clients is that, oh,
I don't add a lot of salt in myfood or I don't cook with a lot
of salt, but maybe we're usingmore concentrated forms of salt,
right?
Either we buy lots of soups,right?
Canned soups or lots ofprocessed foods, or we eat out a
lot, or we use the flavoringright Seasoning that has salt in
(22:35):
it, like the chicken bouillonor something along those lines.
It's highly concentrated insalt and we're not going to
sense it as much, right, butthat doesn't mean that it
doesn't have a lot of sodium.
So keeping those things in mindtoo, and so knowing where your
sodium is coming from, can alsohelp.
And if you have high bloodpressure, even more so, right,
you have to know where your saltand sodium are coming from to
(22:58):
be able to manage it better.
Using avocado oil, right, orolive oil, to like, for
dressings or drizzling.
I don't recommend cooking witholive oil if you're going to
have the high heat, right, ifyou're going to use high heat,
because the smoking point is lowand so your olive oil is going
to burn faster.
(23:19):
So choose avocado oil, whichhas a higher smoking point.
Plan ahead, right.
Oftentimes that might be agreat solution, right?
If we find it.
We're so busy, if we have somany things on our plate, and
the reasons why we're eating nowso often or so much is because
we're not planning ahead.
And so planning your mealsahead is going to make a huge
(23:42):
difference and it's going tosave you time, it's going to
help your health, it's going tosave you money, but you also are
not going to have to thinkabout okay, why do I cook, what
do I make, what am I going toeat today?
Because when we are so hungry,that's the last thing that we
want to think about.
It's really difficult to makean informed choice when we are
already think about.
It's really difficult to, youknow, make an informed choice
(24:04):
when we are already hungry,right.
Our bodies are like dude whocares, just feed me.
So it's better to plan ahead,right?
And then, if you have the means, buy ingredients that are
already pre-cut or pre-choppedfor you, or pre-cooked if you
want, and it's easier to putthem together, right.
Yes, you might be paying more,but you have to have the
(24:25):
trade-off, right?
Do I spend more time doing thator can I spend a little bit
more money?
But I know that it's going toreduce some more of that prep
time.
So think about those things.
I know we went over quite a lot.
Definitely, go back to the shownotes.
Go back to the episode, right,if you want to write some things
down, but just to recap, right,really quick here.
(24:50):
Heart disease, right,cardiovascular disease is a
chronic condition that we canprevent, right, we have.
Oftentimes, our food choicesare going to be the main
contributors to these conditions.
So we have the power to makehealthier choices.
We have the power to choosemore balanced meals, right, we
(25:12):
are able to read the food labeland the ingredients list to make
sure that we're avoiding thosetrans fats decreasing our
saturated fat, which allcontribute to heart disease.
And the only other thing that Ididn't talk about is movement,
right, fats decreasing oursaturated fat, which all
contribute to heart disease.
And the other thing that Ididn't talk about is movement.
Right, our bodies are meant formovement, and I say this time
after time it helps with bloodcirculation, right, but movement
(25:34):
is another thing that helps HDLto go up, right, not a lot of
things can make HDL go up Ouromega-3s, our fiber and movement
.
Those things will help our HDL,our good cholesterol, to go up.
So if we're doing these othertwo things, where we're
optimizing our healthy fats, ouromega-3s, and we're adding at
(25:57):
least 30 grams of fiber, andwe're not seeing a lot of change
in our HDL.
We have to add that exerciseright, and so it doesn't have to
be go to the gym if you don'twant to, right or like start
running.
Just move your body a littlebit more, right?
If you're sitting all day, okay, I'm going to get up every hour
, right, and just go from hereto get some water, right, or
(26:21):
just walk in place Whateverfeels right, but you have to
move your body.
This is not negotiable, right?
This is something that you haveto do to help your body.
Anyway, you have to rememberthat your heart works hard for
you every single day, so let'sgive it the nutrition that it
deserves.
(26:41):
Small changes can lead to majorimprovements in heart health.
If you need more support, ifyou need more guidance, please
don't hesitate to reach out tome.
You can send me a text throughApple Podcast.
You can call me or send me atext at 559-512-0404.
I know there could beconflicting information out and
(27:03):
again be conflicting informationout when you are doing some
research.
So work with a registereddietitian right, again, we are
the food and nutrition experts.
Work with a dietitian to do apersonalized plan to make sure
that if you do have heartdisease or if you're getting
into high cholesterol or thoseborderline levels, that you do
(27:25):
something about it versus likewell, now we have to have a
stent or we have a heart attackbecause we didn't change
anything.
So you have the power.
Now you have to act on it.
All right, my friend?
Stay safe, stay strong.
Don't forget to subscribe toSimple Nutrition Insights.
Share this podcast with anyonethat might find it beneficial.
(27:47):
I will talk to you and see youin another episode.
Bye-bye for now.
Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Simple
Nutrition Insights Podcast.
I am your host, leonila Campos,registered dietitian, and I am
really excited to start February, so this episode is actually
airing on February 3rd.
I am recording it and releasingit.
It has been a pretty busy fewweeks and so I'm a little bit
(00:22):
behind with my post podcastrecording, but anyway, we're
making it happen here, my people.
So today's episode is in regardsto heart health.
So February is actually hearthealth month, and so I wanted to
really focus on today's episodeon heart health.
How can we take care of ourhearts and just to give you a
(00:45):
little bit of statistics to youas to why is it so important to
take care of our heart.
So it's the perfect time totalk about that how nutrition
plays a role in keeping ourhearts strong and preventing
heart disease.
Here's why Heart disease is theleading cause of death
worldwide.
So, according to the Center forDisease Control and Prevention,
(01:06):
in the US alone, a person diesevery 30 seconds from
cardiovascular disease.
That's heart disease.
That's more than 695,000 deathseach year, accounting for one
in every five deaths.
Globally.
The World Health Organizationreports that heart disease
(01:26):
claims about 17.9 million livesannually.
That's a significant number.
But here's the good news Up to80% of cardiovascular diseases
can be prevented with the rightlifestyle choices, including a
heart healthy diet.
So today we'll break down thebest foods for heart health,
which foods to limit and simpleways to improve your heart
(01:49):
health through nutrition.
So stay tuned and let's getstarted.
Before we get into food, let'stalk about what causes heart
disease.
Heart disease develops whenplaque builds up in your
arteries, making it harder forblood flow.
This increases the risk ofheart attacks, strokes and high
(02:10):
blood pressure.
Some key risk factors includepoor diet, high in saturated
fats, trans fats and processedfoods, lack of physical activity
, smoking and excessive alcoholconsumption, high cholesterol
and high blood pressure,diabetes and obesity.
While genetics play a role,your daily choices are the
(02:31):
biggest determining factor, andthese are things that we can
change right, these aremodifiable, these are
preventative.
Well, these are things that wehave control over.
Now let's get into the foodsthat can help lower our risk for
heart disease and improve ourcardiovascular health Fatty fish
so fatty fish, like salmon,mackerel, sardines, tuna.
(02:52):
They are rich in omega-3 fattyacids, which help reduce
inflammation and lowertriglycerides.
Studies show that eating fishtwice a week can lower heart
disease risk by 30%.
Now fish twice a week can lowerheart disease risk by 30%.
Now, if we are vegan,plant-based, or we just don't
(03:15):
eat fish, we still can get ouromega-3 fatty acids from plant
sources like walnuts and chiaseed, ground, flax seeds, or we
can also do an omega-3supplement containing DHA and
EPA.
Of course, you always want toconsult with your healthcare
provider, your dietician, tomake sure that you choose the
right one right in, to make surethat if you do need it, you add
that accordingly.
Leafy greens, spinach, kale,switch chard they are high in
(03:38):
nitrates, so it's different fromnitrites right, which are often
recommended to avoid or limitbecause they have been shown to
contribute to cancer.
So these are naturallycompounds right found in these
leafy greens which actually helplower blood pressure.
So nitrates you also findnitrates in beads, now
(03:59):
oftentimes it's more so nitricoxide that helps the blood flow
to or the vessels to be moreflexible and for blood flow to
circulate better.
So leafy greens, spinach, kale,swiss chard beets are amazing
sources for that.
They also contain antioxidantslike vitamin K that prevent
(04:20):
artery hardening.
Now there is someconsiderations here to keep in
mind that if you are on certainmedications right, vitamin K
oftentimes is not recommended toincrease significantly.
So if you are already eatingsome of these foods and you're
used to eating some of thesefoods, that usually is not a
concern.
Oftentimes it's a concern ifyou are taking some of these
(04:43):
medications and your doctor willtell you and you start adding a
ton of these foods.
Right, it's not that if you'retaking a medication to you know
to thin your blood, right, forexample, or to prevent clotting,
it would have too much vitaminK, right, which is essentially
the opposite and that could be aproblem, right?
But because you are on thatspecific medication.
But if you're not, adding someof these leafy greens can help,
(05:10):
as it does provide some of thesehigh antioxidant components
that helps with inflammation,and then also the vitamin K that
helps with preventing thehardening of the arteries.
Blueberries, strawberries,raspberries, boysenberries
there's all kinds of berries.
They are packed withpolyphenols and flavonoids which
reduce inflammation and improveblood flow vessel function.
A study in the American Journalof Clinical Nutrition found
(05:32):
that people who ate or who eatthree servings of berries per
week have a 30% lower risk ofheart attack.
So berries are your friends.
Add berries whenever you wantwith your breakfast, with your
snacks, with your lunch wheneveryou want to add them.
They also provide a good amountof fiber and those antioxidants
(05:54):
, too, that also help your cellsat a cellular level and help
with inflammation and oxidation.
So berries have so many amazingcomponents Nuts and seeds like
almonds, walnuts, flax seeds,chia seeds they are rich in
healthy fats, fiber andmagnesium, which support heart
health.
(06:15):
Studies show that eating ahandful of nuts daily can reduce
heart disease risk by 20%.
So let's be a bit more specifichere, right?
Sometimes I do see peopleeating handfuls throughout the
day.
You still have to keep in mindthat, even though they are
packed with healthy fats, fiber,magnesium, selenium and other
minerals, we cannot just bemindlessly eating them
(06:37):
throughout the day, right,because they are higher in our
healthy fats, which are going tobe higher in calories.
So if that is also a concernthat you have, keep those things
in mind and you only need anounce, right, which is one
serving an ounce or a quartercup of these healthy fats or
these nuts and seeds right, toget most of the nutrients, you
can add two, you know, twoservings, if you like, for
(07:00):
variety, but it's a good idea toadd them also, being mindful of
those things too.
So we cannot just add themmindlessly.
Whole grains like oats, quinoa,brown rice, whole wheat.
They are high in fiber, whichlowers LDL, which is the bad
cholesterol.
Research shows that people whoeat at least three servings of
(07:20):
whole grains daily have a 22%lower risk of heart disease.
And I'm going to talk aboutfiber a little bit more in a
moment, but I want you to keepfiber in mind Legumes, lentils,
chickpeas, black beans.
They are rich in plant-basedprotein and fiber, which help
control blood sugars andcholesterol.
Eating legumes four times aweek can cut heart disease risk
(07:45):
by 14%.
You're going to like this one.
I hope this is bringing you alittle bit of joy.
Dark chocolate at least 70%cocoa contains flavonoids that
improve circulation and lowerblood pressure, and actually a
Harvard study found that peoplewho eat dark chocolate five
(08:05):
times per week that's, you know,once daily almost have a lower
risk of heart disease.
So let's talk a little bitabout fiber here Now.
Oftentimes, when I have clientscome to me either for
cholesterol management or theyhave high cholesterol or high
triglycerides, or if they havehigh LDL, which is the bad
(08:28):
cholesterol, and low HDL, whichis your good cholesterol the
first thing that I do is that Iask lots of questions.
I always ask lots of questionsbecause I want to understand the
whole.
You right, I want to be able toreally dig deep and understand
the root cause as to why we'rehaving these issues.
So oftentimes we think, well,we're eating enough veggies,
(08:51):
right, or we're eating.
I should be eating enough fiberbecause I'm eating all kinds of
salads.
The reality here is that mostof the times, salads like if we
just are adding romaine lettuceor iceberg lettuce or whatever,
and we have a big bowl and thatis all we add.
That's not a lot of fiber.
It usually has like maybe onegram of fiber and we need about
(09:14):
30 grams of fiber.
So it doesn't mean that we haveto eliminate those foods, right
, but we have to add morenutrition to those salads, right
?
Let's add some cucumbers, let'sadd some berries.
Let's add some chickpeas rightfor that extra fiber and plant
protein sources.
Let's add some chopped walnutsright from some of those
omega-3s.
(09:34):
So when you add more nutritionto that salad, right, then you
are definitely adding more fiber, more nutrition, which is going
to help you to feel moresatiated.
At the same time, it's going tohelp you lower your cholesterol
.
Fiber plays a huge role in somany areas of our lives,
specifically in cholesterolmanagement.
Because, again, fiber acts aslike a sponge right, when we eat
(10:01):
high-fiber foods, that highfiber is going to be going into
the digestive tract, right, andthat acts as a sponge and
absorbs all of that cholesterolat the same time.
Clean our intestines, right,and we get rid of that extra
cholesterol, extra blood sugar,through the stool.
And so fiber again plays a hugerole.
(10:21):
We have to be able to be awareof how much fiber we're having
and where the fiber is comingfrom.
Right, again, we can absolutelyhave lots of salads if we want
to, but we have to be strategic,as while we're adding to that
salad, to make sure that we'rehaving enough fiber.
Otherwise, we can have thesesalads right Volume-wise, we
(10:42):
feel satiated, but we're notgetting enough fiber.
The other thing, too right andthat's going to come next is
that we have to be aware ofwhere our cholesterol is coming
from.
Now, our bodies makecholesterol already.
So if we were to just eliminateall the cholesterol-containing
foods, we'll be okay.
Right, because our body makesit, but we also get it from
(11:07):
everything that comes from ananimal.
It's going to have cholesterolas well as saturated fat.
Essentially, that's what weneed to be more cautious of.
Now there's one plant sourceactually two plant sources that
also provide saturated fat, andthat's coconut and palm palm
(11:28):
tree either oil or the actualfruit.
So if we have high cholesterol,right, and we've been diligent
about changing our nutrition,but we have high intake of
coconut, right, that could alsocontribute to our saturated fats
.
Even the plant source you knowcontaining saturated fat can
also affect our LDL levels.
(11:49):
Okay, so let's go into foods tolimit right, or to be cautious
about when we have highcholesterol or when we have
heart disease or cardiovasculardisease.
The first one is processed andred meat.
Now, this is more so becausethey're high in saturated fat
and sodium, which can raiseblood pressure.
(12:10):
But there's also studies thatlink frequent consumption to
these processed and red meats toa 42% increased risk of heart
disease.
So when you think of your delimeats, your bacon, your hot dogs
, hot dog links, spam thosetypes of processed red meats.
(12:32):
The second one is sugary drinks, sodas, coffee, energy drinks.
More so because they are linkedto obesity because of the high
intake or the high amount ofsugar and calories that can also
contribute to diabetes and hightriglycerides.
So consuming one sugary drinkper day raises heart disease
(12:53):
risk by 20%.
Now, if you have two sugarydrinks, that's 40% increase.
Right, oftentimes, as we arereally being aware of where our
calories are coming from, whereis the saturated fat is coming
from or the other possiblereasons as to why we're having
cardiovascular disease maybebecause our triglycerides are
(13:15):
high.
Oftentimes, if that is comingfrom a sugary drink, decreasing
that amount right, the frequencyor the type is really going to
decrease our risk for heartdisease.
Right, as we are seeing here,that one sugary drink per day
raises heart disease by 20%.
Right.
Now, your body, our bodies, areso amazing that you're not
(13:36):
going to see that right away.
Right, heart disease it's achronic condition, just like
diabetes, just like obesity, andso you're not going to see that
right away, but you will see ina matter of years, right, and
so as we continue to do that,we're continuing to increase our
risk.
So making those smaller changescan make a huge impact in our
(13:58):
overall health.
Number three refinedcarbohydrates.
Right, like when we think aboutwhite flours, lots of pastries
or baked goods.
Right, Because they cause bloodsugar spikes and insulin
resistance, which can harm theheart as well.
Not only to mention right thatif we're having these sugar
(14:19):
spikes, right, the sugar rollercoasters, and we have that
response of the insulin andwe're not utilizing that blood
sugar right, or we're notutilizing that sugar for energy
because we're not exercising orbecause, you know, we're
sedentary, that insulin is not.
The role of the insulin is notonly to lower your blood sugar,
(14:39):
but it's also to create fatcells.
Right, because there's ourliver cells, our muscle cells,
our brain cells are alreadysaturated with sugar or glycogen
, which is a store form of sugarthat your body's like.
Well, they're saturated.
Where do we put this sugar?
Right, we have to create fatcells to be able to store it
(15:00):
there.
So insulin has that role right,and so it would keep having
these sugar spikes.
That's what insulin is doing.
Trans fats Trans fats you'regoing to find them in fried
foods, margarine, processedbaked goods and trans fats.
There are some trans fatsnaturally occurring in animal
(15:21):
foods, but these are trans fatsthat have been chemically
created by the food industry tobe able to mass produce food but
also to make food moreshelf-stable.
And so when you look at yournutritional facts label, you're
going to see all these nutrientsright, you're going to see
(15:44):
total fat, saturated fat, transfat, carbohydrates, et cetera.
On the trans fat, you're alwaysgoing to see it as zero, right?
But that's because if FDA, asthe food industry, to minimize
the amount of trans fats used infoods and to not go over 0.5
grams per serving, because theyhave seen how impactful it is in
(16:09):
cardiovascular health, but thatdoesn't mean that it doesn't
have trans fat.
It just means that it has lessthan 0.5 grams and so they don't
have to put it on the foodlabel.
However, we as consumers have todo our due diligence and look
at the ingredients list and seeif there's something called
partially or fully hydrogenatedoils, that is a trans fat.
(16:33):
So anytime that you seepartially or fully hydrogenated
oils, whatever the oil is, thatis a trans fat.
Now again, excuse me, itdoesn't mean that it has more
than 0.5 grams, but if it's aproduct that we're going to be
eating day after day, that isgoing to be accumulated to more
than 0.5 grams, which is goingto contribute to heart disease.
(16:54):
So and here's why because thesetrans fats increase LDL
cholesterol while lowering yourHDL cholesterol, and that
because if you don't have enoughHDL cholesterol, which is what
helps to lower the badcholesterol, right, and we have
this imbalance and the more thatwe have them right, the higher
(17:15):
the LDL cholesterol is going tobe.
So it's important that we keepthose things in mind and we do
our due diligence when we'rebuying products.
I would suggest probablyreading that reading not only
the nutrition facts label, butthe ingredients list as well
when you're buying products, tomake sure that it doesn't have
any trans fats.
So, essentially, these, in anutshell, are some of the foods
(17:40):
that we have to be cautiousabout, right, when we're trying
to prevent cardiovasculardisease, when we're trying to
lower LDL or total cholesterol,and just overall, to protect our
hearts, our vessels right,which go everywhere.
Okay, let's put some of thesetips into practice, right, and
(18:01):
how to make the best out of thisepisode.
So I did an episode and I'mgoing to bring it back just as a
reminder, but I did a podcastepisode on my 3-2-1 nutrition
method, right, which I useessentially with every single
client that I get, because it'spretty simple to follow, right.
(18:22):
Obviously, we can add morenutrition to those meals, but
this is like a starting guide,right?
So the idea is to add threeounces of protein, right Lean
sources of protein in each meal.
So if you're adding animalsources, right, try to stay with
the leaner sources as much asyou can.
You know, if you want chickenbreast, if you want turkey, if
(18:45):
you want lean beef, as well asadding some plant sources, right
, you want to be able to addplant proteins at least twice a
week because those plant sourcesare not going to add any
cholesterol, any saturated fat.
So if you're choosing your tofu, your tempeh, your seitan, your
aromama beans, legumes right,they're not adding any saturated
fat.
So if you're choosing your tofu, your tempeh, your seitan, your
aromama beans, legumes right,they're not adding any saturated
(19:06):
fat, no cholesterol or transfats right, because they don't
have those.
Those only from most of yourplant sources, I'm sorry, most
of your animal sources, with theexception again of coconut that
will have higher amounts ofsaturated fat.
So try to have at least threeounces of protein, right.
Lean sources, your two cups ofvegetables, you know.
Try to add some spinach, somekale, different colors, right,
(19:29):
keeping in mind that we want tomake sure we're adding those
throughout the day to increaseour fiber.
Your fiber only comes fromplant sources, so you want to be
able to add them at everysingle meal, if possible, and
then you want your one servingof carbohydrates, preferably
whole grain like quinoa, brownrice.
If you want to add sweet potatoor regular potato, right, those
(19:50):
are some options to you andthen you have a balanced meal.
If you want to refresh it onthe five food groups right,
don't hesitate to go back tothat episode from last year, and
that's where I talk about thefive food groups and adding some
of these other food groups intothis method to have more of a
complementary type of meal.
Now I want to say that lastweek, I did an episode on the
(20:17):
different diets right in 2025 inthe US report, and the
Mediterranean diet usually comespretty strong year after year,
and that's because theMediterranean diet right.
It serves as a guide forcardiovascular health, but also
because it basically adds allthe foods that I mentioned right
, that help with our hearthealth.
(20:38):
They follow that right.
So lots of vegetables, healthyfats or lean proteins or whole
grains, and so if you wantsomething more structured to
follow, try doing theMediterranean diet right and
fitting in some of the foodsthat you enjoy to make it more
personable.
There's research that showsthat this Mediterranean diet
(20:59):
reduces heart disease risk by upto 30%, right?
So if you're wanting somethingmore visual, right.
There's so many resources outthere that show you what the
Mediterranean diet is, so youcan absolutely start there as a
guide.
The other factor that we have tokeep in mind is limiting salt
and added sugar.
We want to aim for less than2,300 milligrams of sodium per
(21:23):
day, which is about one teaspoonof salt a day.
Now, if you already have highblood pressure, the
recommendation is less than1,500 milligrams of sodium a day
, and that's because, if we addmore sodium right, that makes
your heart work harder becausethe kidneys are retaining more
water and that increases bloodpressure, which affects your
(21:46):
heart.
And so, if we already have highblood pressure, the
recommendation for sodium is1,500 milligrams or less.
If there are no issues, thegeneral recommendation is less
than 2,300 milligrams of sodiumper day.
It's so dependent.
If you're really active, if youlive in a really humid place or
if you're sweating all the time, there might be some changes
(22:11):
there, but this is, for thegeneral population, general
guidelines here.
Oftentimes and I do hear thisoften with clients is that, oh,
I don't add a lot of salt in myfood or I don't cook with a lot
of salt, but maybe we're usingmore concentrated forms of salt,
right?
Either we buy lots of soups,right?
Canned soups or lots ofprocessed foods, or we eat out a
lot, or we use the flavoringright Seasoning that has salt in
(22:35):
it, like the chicken bouillonor something along those lines.
It's highly concentrated insalt and we're not going to
sense it as much, right, butthat doesn't mean that it
doesn't have a lot of sodium.
So keeping those things in mindtoo, and so knowing where your
sodium is coming from, can alsohelp.
And if you have high bloodpressure, even more so, right,
you have to know where your saltand sodium are coming from to
(22:58):
be able to manage it better.
Using avocado oil, right, orolive oil, to like, for
dressings or drizzling.
I don't recommend cooking witholive oil if you're going to
have the high heat, right, ifyou're going to use high heat,
because the smoking point is lowand so your olive oil is going
to burn faster.
(23:19):
So choose avocado oil, whichhas a higher smoking point.
Plan ahead, right.
Oftentimes that might be agreat solution, right?
If we find it.
We're so busy, if we have somany things on our plate, and
the reasons why we're eating nowso often or so much is because
we're not planning ahead.
And so planning your mealsahead is going to make a huge
(23:42):
difference and it's going tosave you time, it's going to
help your health, it's going tosave you money, but you also are
not going to have to thinkabout okay, why do I cook, what
do I make, what am I going toeat today?
Because when we are so hungry,that's the last thing that we
want to think about.
It's really difficult to makean informed choice when we are
already think about.
It's really difficult to, youknow, make an informed choice
(24:04):
when we are already hungry,right.
Our bodies are like dude whocares, just feed me.
So it's better to plan ahead,right?
And then, if you have the means, buy ingredients that are
already pre-cut or pre-choppedfor you, or pre-cooked if you
want, and it's easier to putthem together, right.
Yes, you might be paying more,but you have to have the
(24:25):
trade-off, right?
Do I spend more time doing thator can I spend a little bit
more money?
But I know that it's going toreduce some more of that prep
time.
So think about those things.
I know we went over quite a lot.
Definitely, go back to the shownotes.
Go back to the episode, right,if you want to write some things
down, but just to recap, right,really quick here.
(24:50):
Heart disease, right,cardiovascular disease is a
chronic condition that we canprevent, right, we have.
Oftentimes, our food choicesare going to be the main
contributors to these conditions.
So we have the power to makehealthier choices.
We have the power to choosemore balanced meals, right, we
(25:12):
are able to read the food labeland the ingredients list to make
sure that we're avoiding thosetrans fats decreasing our
saturated fat, which allcontribute to heart disease.
And the only other thing that Ididn't talk about is movement,
right, fats decreasing oursaturated fat, which all
contribute to heart disease.
And the other thing that Ididn't talk about is movement.
Right, our bodies are meant formovement, and I say this time
after time it helps with bloodcirculation, right, but movement
(25:34):
is another thing that helps HDLto go up, right, not a lot of
things can make HDL go up Ouromega-3s, our fiber and movement
.
Those things will help our HDL,our good cholesterol, to go up.
So if we're doing these othertwo things, where we're
optimizing our healthy fats, ouromega-3s, and we're adding at
(25:57):
least 30 grams of fiber, andwe're not seeing a lot of change
in our HDL.
We have to add that exerciseright, and so it doesn't have to
be go to the gym if you don'twant to, right or like start
running.
Just move your body a littlebit more, right?
If you're sitting all day, okay, I'm going to get up every hour
, right, and just go from hereto get some water, right, or
(26:21):
just walk in place Whateverfeels right, but you have to
move your body.
This is not negotiable, right?
This is something that you haveto do to help your body.
Anyway, you have to rememberthat your heart works hard for
you every single day, so let'sgive it the nutrition that it
deserves.
(26:41):
Small changes can lead to majorimprovements in heart health.
If you need more support, ifyou need more guidance, please
don't hesitate to reach out tome.
You can send me a text throughApple Podcast.
You can call me or send me atext at 559-512-0404.
I know there could beconflicting information out and
(27:03):
again be conflicting informationout when you are doing some
research.
So work with a registereddietitian right, again, we are
the food and nutrition experts.
Work with a dietitian to do apersonalized plan to make sure
that if you do have heartdisease or if you're getting
into high cholesterol or thoseborderline levels, that you do
(27:25):
something about it versus likewell, now we have to have a
stent or we have a heart attackbecause we didn't change
anything.
So you have the power.
Now you have to act on it.
All right, my friend?
Stay safe, stay strong.
Don't forget to subscribe toSimple Nutrition Insights.
Share this podcast with anyonethat might find it beneficial.
(27:47):
I will talk to you and see youin another episode.
Bye-bye for now.
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