Diet Plan For Preventing Re-Attack

A well designed diet can help prevent a heart attack or avoid it from recurring. Heart patients must eat a lot of whole foods and keep a vegetarian diet, consisting of vegetables and fruits, nuts, and whole grains.

  • Raw vegetables and fruits are extremely helpful. If necessary, cook very slightly in order to preserve the enzymes.
  • Take several small meals which are low in salt in the first week following the heart attack. Do not use cold liquids. Vegetables such as cauliflower and carrots are very good as they are low in salt, easily accepted, and carry essential minerals and vitamins.
  • Avoid red meat and processed food. Red meat has saturated fats where as processed foods contain trans fatty acids. Both are major causes of a heart attack. Consume omega-3 fatty acids as they are believed to reduce blood cholesterol level.
  • Eat foods that contain magnesium such as wheat germ, potatoes, broccoli, and spinach. These will help regulate the heart activity.
  • Consume garlic in your meal as it lowers the blood pressure, reduces cholesterol and prevents the formation of thrombus, or a blood clot.
  • Onions have antioxidants and are beneficial for your heart.
  • Drink fresh vegetable juices. These will provide you with energy and important vitamins and minerals, besides improving the health of your heart.
  • Cayenne pepper is good for lowering your cholesterol level, increasing the flow of blood and preventing platelets from assimilating.
  • Honey is known for its curative powers. One teaspoon of honey, taken two to three times a week will help strengthen your heart.
  • Walnut reduces the risk of a heart attack dramatically.
  • Avoid or reduce the use of alcohol, caffeine products, and carbonated drinks.
  • Use two egg whites instead of single whole egg.

Diet Plans For Heart Patients


For heart patients, a diet change is usually prescribed before medicines. The National Cholesterol Education Program of the National Institute of Health recommends the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet to reduce cholesterol levels, the main culprit causing heart disease. The specific target of any diet plan for heart patients is to reduce intake of saturated fat, which increases cholesterol.

Basically the TLC diet aims to limit the amount of meat and dairy products a patient takes in. Animal fat is replaced by unsaturated fats, contained in olive, canola, or peanut. If you follow the TLC diet to a tee, you will be consuming less than 200 mg of cholesterol per day. This calorie intake will be just enough to maintain your desired weight and you will avoid gaining weight.

Here is what the TLC diet plan looks like:

Food group

Number of servings

Portion size

Lean meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, and dry peas

No more than 5 ounces total per day

5 ounces maximum per day of lean meat, poultry, or fish

Substitute ¼ cup dry beans or peas for 1 ounce of meat.

Eggs

No more than 2 yolks per week

1 whole egg. Egg whites or substitutes are not limited.

Low-fat milk and milk products

2 to 3 per day

1 cup nonfat or 1% milk

1 cup nonfat or low-fat yogurt

1 ounce fat-free or low-fat cheese (3 grams of fat or less per ounce)

Fruits

2 to 4 per day

1 piece fruit, such as apple, orange, or ½ a banana

½ cup canned fruit

1 cup berries or melon

¾ cup fruit juice

Vegetables

3 to 5 per day

1 cup raw leafy greens

½ cup cooked or raw vegetables

¾ cup vegetable juice

Bread, cereals, pasta, rice, other grains

6 to 11 per day

1 slice of bread

½ hot dog or hamburger bun, bagel, or English muffin

1 ounce cold cereal

½ cup cooked pasta, rice, noodles, or other grains

Fat and oils

6 to 8 per day

1 teaspoon monounsaturated oil, such as canola, olive, or peanut

1 teaspoon polyunsaturated oil, such as corn or safflower

1 teaspoon soft margarine (one that does not contain hydrogenated oils)

1 tablespoon salad dressing

1 teaspoon mayonnaise

2 tablespoons nuts or seeds

Sweets/snacks

Within calorie limit

Snacks that are low in fat or made with unsaturated fat.

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