 |
If you have heart failure, eating healthy foods can help you feel better and can help keep your symptoms from getting worse. Use the links below to learn more about how to eat a low-salt, heart-healthy diet.
Limit Sodium Intake
What to Eat (and Avoid) on a Low-sodium Diet
Read Nutrition Labels
Cut Cholesterol
Cut Fat
Substitute for Satisfaction
Limit Sodium Intake
People with heart failure need to eat a low-sodium (low-salt), heart-healthy diet. Sodium is a mineral that your body uses in small amounts. But, too much sodium makes your body retain, or hold on to, water. Your heart then has to work harder to pump blood. This can make your symptoms worse.
The American Heart Association says that heart failure patients should consume (eat and drink) no more than 2000 mg of sodium a day. This might sound like a lot, but it isn’t. Just one teaspoon of salt has 2300 mg of sodium. So, you have to closely watch what you eat and drink at each meal and snack.
Limit Sodium Intake at Home
- Get rid of your salt shaker.
- Cook without salt.
- Flavor your food with bold spices, lemon, or vinegar instead of using salt or high-sodium bottled dressings or marinades.
- Use low-sodium recipes.
- Use low-sodium versions of your favorite foods.
- Eat fresh or frozen foods. If you have to eat canned or processed foods, rinse them before you cook or eat them.
- Ask you clinician if salt substitutes are safe for you.
- If you have heartburn or a headache, take medicines that do not have sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate in them.
Limit Sodium Intake at Restaurants
Do Order
- Food that is fresh and broiled, baked, or grilled.
- Mixed green salads or fruit as side dishes.
Don’t Order
- Food that is fried, frozen, or pre-made.
- French fries or potato or pasta salads.
- Dips, potato or nacho chips, salsa, pizza, or soups.
- Dishes made with a lot of sauce.
How to Order
- Ask your server how much sodium and fat are in menu items. Choose foods that have the least sodium and fat per serving.
- Ask for dressings and sauces to be put on the side. Then, just use a little of them on your food or don’t use them at all.
- Tell your server that you don’t want cheese, MSG, salt, seasonings, or butter added to your food.
Other Ideas
- Don’t eat at fast food restaurants. Food in these places is often is often pre-made and can have a lot of sodium.
- Don’t eat snacks from vending machines.
- Bring your own low-sodium, heart-healthy foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, or yogurt.
Top
What to Eat (and Avoid) on a Low-sodium Diet
.jpg)
Top
Read Nutrition Labels
Food packages have nutrition labels. The labels list how much sodium is in one serving. But, the package may have more than one serving. The sodium content in one serving size might not be too much. But, if you eat the whole package, there might be too much sodium.
The label below says there are two servings per container. The sodium content for one serving is 970 mg, but for the whole package, it is 1940 mg. If you ate all of it, you would almost reach your whole day’s sodium limit of 2000 mg. You should not eat this food since it is too salty!
Top
Cut Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a wax-like fat. It is found in the bloodstream and the body’s cells. Your liver makes cholesterol, but you also get more of it when you eat foods like meats, poultry, fish, and dairy products.
Too much cholesterol in the blood causes a build-up in the walls of blood vessels. Over time, this can clog your arteries. It can lead to coronary artery disease and make your heart failure worse. So you should take as much cholesterol out of your diet as you can.
Ask your clinician how much cholesterol you should take in each day. He or she might also prescribe a medicine to help keep your cholesterol at a safe level.
Top
Cut Fat
Stay away from saturated fats. These are most often found in food that comes from animals like beef, chicken, pork, and whole milk dairy products. Saturated fats can make your cholesterol level go up. This can lead to coronary artery disease and heart attack. It can also make your heart weaker. Monosaturated fats come from vegetables. They can help bring your cholesterol down. Monosaturated fats are found in canola, olive, and peanut oils. They are also in avocados, olives, and many nuts and seeds.
Top
Substitute for Satisfaction
.jpg)
Top
|
|
|