Components of the Heart Healthy Diets

Fats and cholesterol. Cholesterol and fats  are some of the things that predispose individuals to heart diseases like coronary heart disease. They comprise of the plaque that gets deposited on the blood vessel walls during atherosclerosis. In general fats and cholesterol should be limited to any meal so as to reduce the risk of heart diseases. On a daily basis, one should eat less than 14g of saturated fats and cholesterol amounts that can’t exceed 300mg. On the same line, olive oil, and canola oil should be preferred over other fats from butter, lard, and coconut among others. Once there is a limitation in the use of fats and cholesterol, the risk of having coronary heart disease reduces.

Fruits and vegetables. These foods are very rich in minerals and vitamins. The biggest advantage, of preparing meals with these foods, is that they are a good source of fiber and have low amounts of calories. When you want to get used to these kinds of foods, put them in a place, you can easily access them in a fridge. In preparing the vegetables, ensure that you limit the use of salt and fats.

Carbohydrates. Whole grains contain fiber and many other nutrients. The contents of the grains help in regulating the blood pressure, thus increasing heart health. Foods like flaxseeds contain omega-3 fatty acids in addition to carbohydrates. They can help lower the cholesterol levels in the blood.  Individuals should avoid processed foods from the grains like white bread, biscuits and granola bars among many others. Cakes and snack with a lot of fats should be avoided as well.

Topic: Heart Healthy Diet

Order Description
Heart Healthy Diet

Part A (5pts) Using your text, answer the following questions for someone wanting to change their diet to make it more heart healthy:

1. What are three types of fat that should be increased? What are two types of fat that should be decreased?

2. What type of carbohydrate should be increased? What type of carbohydrate should be decreased?

3. Which mineral should be decreased?

Part B (9pts) Enter Michael’s diet below into the MyPlate Supertracker. See the attached document for help on using the SuperTracker.

Breakfast: 2 Pop-tarts, 3 small cooked, pork sausage links and a 16 oz. glass of sunny delight fruit drink

Lunch: Nacho Supreme from Taco Bell and a 32 oz Coke

Dinner: Meatball sub at Subway with a bag of sunchips and a 16 oz apple juice

Report on Michael’s diet for each of the 8 nutrients listed in part A. (for example, what was his total fat? Total fiber?) Make sure that you are using SuperTracker properly, as there are solid ‘right answers’ for this section. For trans fats – which of his foods may contain these? (Use the book to help you)

Part C (9pts) Propose a new diet for Michael, implementing the changes for 8 nutrients you outlined in part A. Enter the new diet in SuperTracker, and, like part B, report on the total amounts for those 8 nutrients. Include the meal summary report and nutrient intake report in the dropbox.

Part D (2pts) What did you notice when creating Michael’s new diet? Which nutrients were easy to make changes for, and which were more challenging? Why?