This is a continuation of essential things to know if you have diabetes.
Four areas to focus on to protect your heart
There are four areas, or places that you can influence, when you are wanting to take some action steps to protect your heart and to prevent heart disease. These are your food choices, activity, stress management, and social connections. I am going to continue with the blogs to talk more in detail about action steps that you can take to better manage your heart health.
Meat choices - food choices to focus on to lower fats
The proteins/meats can be a high source of fat in the diet. The type and portions that you eat in your diet could potentially be a source of a lot of fat and of saturated type fats.
To lower fat:
Choose less fatty cuts of meat such as loin or round cuts of meat. These meats are not as high in saturated fats as other types
Trim off the fat on the edge of the meat
Chicken and turkey
Choose white meat instead of dark meat
Take the skin off before you eat it
Preparation of foods
Bake
Broil
Steam
Grill
Poach
Avoid frying foods - This adds extra fats and calories
Omega 3 fatty acids - another way to protect your heart
Foods that contain omega 3 fatty acids are:
Salmon (wild caught)
Tuna - packed in water
Herring
Mackeral
Walnuts
Flaxseeds - use ground variety
Sardines
A 3 oz serving 2 times a week of a omega 3 rich source such as fish listed above is heart protective
Portion size of meats
A serving size for meats at lunch and dinner would be 3 oz. This is the same size as a regular sized deck of playing cards. Another way to think of the size of the portion would be is that it would be one quarter of a 9-inch plate.
Action steps to take - choose one:
Decrease your meat portion size to the size of a regular deck of playing cards.
Decrease your meat portion by one ounce over a two to three week time.
Choose lean cuts of meats - round or loin cuts
Take the skin off of poultry
Choose white meat instead of brown meat for poultry
Eat omega 3-fatty acid fish 3 oz portion 2 or 3 times per week
Focus on preparing foods in a lower fat method such as baking, broiling, grilling, poaching, or steaming
Have a meatless meal one or two times a week
If you need help with your diet, here is the link to schedule with me:
Best Health,
Juanita