What are the foods good to the health of my heart?

There are many foods which are good for our heart health. Healthy food along with enough physical activity is the best. Your lifestyle plays also a vital role here.

The good foods are as follows:

Fish – fatty fish is very good because it contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids. It has preventive and also therapeutic effects against cardiovascular disease. Fish decreases the chances of heart attack at least to 50%. If you are a non-eater of fish, eat fish after a heart attack or at least tablets of fish oil. The effects of fish eating are the following:

It blocks clotting
It reduces blood vessel constriction and increases blood flow.
Blocks cell damage from oxygen free radicals.
It raises the good HDL cholesterol and also lowers triglycerides.
It also lowers blood pressure

Garlic – It reduces or prevents artery-clogging. The several antioxidants present in garlic are being responsible for this positive effect.

Nuts, pulses, beans and seeds – These are good food for persons having heart problems. Groundnuts, almonds and walnuts are commonly consumed and they reduce the risk at least 25%. Nuts have monounsaturated fatty acids, rich in fibre and several antioxidants. Eating nuts mean that one puts on weight and you must be careful with the amount.

Fruits and vegetables – Vegetarians have less heart attack and I am sure their arteries are much cleaner. Fruits and vegetables are good to prevent as well as post heart attack food.

Oils – Olive oil and sesame oil are good food for heart’s health. They lower bad LDL cholesterol and have antioxidants also. Sesame oil is as good as olive oil and the difference is only the composition of the fatty acids.

Alcohol – Alcohol is not necessary for our metabolism. But one or two drinks or a glass of wine or a glass of beer per day is healthy. Alcohol helps to expand the arteries. Two glasses of wine or four drinks per day are harmful to health. Addiction is also a big danger and so it is better to avoid alcohol. Only the resveratrol present in red wine could lower cholesterol. It also only one glass (180 ml) is enough and than one glass is advisable. Excess alcohol narrows the arteries and this is very bad to your health.

Whole grains products are better than milled ones.

What types of food you have to avoid? Animal food should be taken less, lean meat may be taken and the saturated animal fat must be below 10% of the total calories intake.

Skinless poultry meat is good in limited amount.

You must avoid also excess intake of carbohydrates. Excess sugar is converted the lives as blood fat, triglycerides which is a risk factor for heart disease.

Avoid heavy meals.

Avoid excess salt.

Drink 3 to 4 litres of water (unless you are fluid restricted).

My husband has high cholesterol value; can I use sesame oil for cooking?

You can use sesame oil for cooking without any problem because sesame oil also contains monounsaturated fatty acids and it has got the capacity to reduce cholesterol also.

Because of its good antioxidants sesame oil is very heat stable compared to olive oil and is thus suitable for our Indian way of cooking.

In its health qualities sesame oil is equally good as olive oil.

If your husband has overweight then the amount used should not be too high because 100 g sesame or other oils have 900 calories.

What are the healthy edible oils?

All edible oils are healthy. Olive oil is considered to be the best oil in the world, but I would like to say sesame oil is as good as olive oil.
The only difference is the distribution of monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids. Olive oil has more monounsaturated and sesame has more omega-6 fatty acids. The important fatty acid in fish is also omega-3 fatty acids. Sunflower has more omega-6 fatty acids and canola is the mustard oil without smell.

Olive oil should not be heated above 70 degrees C and it could be used with salads.

For our Indian way of cooking sesame oil, coconut oil, groundnut oil and sunflower oil is good.

Oils are always healthy and it is in your hands to use them judiciously in such a way to get only the health benefits.

All plant oils have no cholesterol. Never forget 100 g oil has approximately 890 calories.