Control High Blood Pressure – Switch from canned veggies to frozen.
Canned vegetables are high in sodium, while frozen vegetables (without added sauces) usually have no added sodium. Buy the large economy size bags, pour out the amount you need for your meal, close the bag with zip closure or twist tie and stick back in the freezer until next time!
Making this change will significantly reduce your sodium intake, promote blood pressure control and heart health!
Be sure to sign up for regular heart health and weight loss tips through The Heart of Health ezine!
Start "slimming down" your recipes to cut calories and lose weight!
Here are a few simple substitutions:
Replace whole eggs with egg substitutes or egg whites.
Replace butter, oil, and margarine in sweet baked goods with fruit puree or applesauce.
Replace ground beef with ground turkey.
Substitute plain, low-fat yogurt in place of sour cream.
Instead of pastry dough, go with a graham cracker crust.
With a couple substitutions you can enjoy the foods you love without sacrificing your waist!
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All the best,
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Use the "talk test" to monitor fitness.
Have you been working out regularly, but not seeing the results you want? Are you working hard enough?
A quick and simple way to check your workout intensity is the “talk test”.
If you can talk with no trouble, pick up the pace.
If you can talk, but need to take a breath every 4-5 words, you’re right on track.
If you’re gasping for breath after every word, slow down!
Check yourself the next time you workout. . .you may need to find a higher gear!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
P.S. Don’t forget to get your subscription to The Heart of Health!
How to boost dietary fiber intake without elevating uric acid.
Question:
How do you boost fiber intake if you have to watch your uric acid levels?
Answer:
Too much uric acid leads to problems with gout (inflammation/pain in your joints).
Fortunately, a diet that is “gout friendly” will also benefit your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as weight loss efforts.
Here are 4 tips:
- Avoid alcohol or limit intake
- Drink plenty of water (stay hydrated!)
- Maintain an ideal body weight – if you need to lose weight avoid fasting or quick weight loss schemes
- Avoid foods high in purines
Uric acid comes from the breakdown of purines. Purines make up human tissue and they are found in foods. Which is why limiting foods with high in purines content is beneficial.
Foods to limit/avoid – alcohol, anchovies, sardines in oil, herring, organ meat, legumes (dried beans, peas, mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, cauliflower, yeast, meat extracts, and gravies.
Foods that are beneficial to gout treatment include fresh berries, bananas, tomatoes, celery, cabbage, parsley, green-leafy vegetables, pineapple, red bell peppers, tangerines, oranges, potatoes, low fat dairy, whole grain breads and pastas, tuna, salmon, nuts, seeds, and tofu.
In my recent article – High Fiber Diet Plan to Lower Cholesterol and Lose Weight – I recommended legumes as a good high fiber source to increase. If uric acid levels are an issue for you, legumes is not the best source for increasing your fiber intake. Instead, rely on whole grain breads, cereals, and pastas, as well, as fruits and vegetables beneficial to gout treatment that I’ve listed above to get your daily dietary fiber.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Eating Breakfast Equals Weight Loss
Do you eat breakfast?
Well, a recent study backs up the claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Two groups of women were compared. The first group followed a low calorie diet (~1200 calories) that included a balanced protein/carbohydrate intake. This first group ate 50% of their daily calories in the morning (~600 calories). The second group followed a low calorie (~1000 calories), low carbohydrate diet and ate ~25% of their calories in the morning. The first group lost ~40 pounds over 6 months, while the second group lost ~10 pounds (28 pounds first 4 months, followed by 18 pound regain).
Balancing protein and carbohydrates in your breakfast is important. Here are some examples of quick and easy breakfast meals that include both protein and carbohydrates.
Whole wheat toast with peanut butter
Low fat cottage cheese with canned peaches (light syrup)
Banana with handful of mixed nuts
Whole grain cereal with low fat milk
Apple with hard-boiled egg
Low fat yogurt with granola
What are you going to eat for breakfast?
All the best,
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Heart Health and Weight Loss Tips
Use Plant Sterols for Heart Health
One way to improve heart health and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol is to include plant sterols as part of your everyday diet. Plant sterols, also called phytosterols, actively remove cholesterol from the body by blocking cholesterol absorption in the intestine.
Eating 2 grams of plant sterols each day will on average reduce your LDL cholesterol 10%.
Plant sterols occur naturally in foods at low levels, so some foods (such as margarines, mayonnaise, and dairy based drinks) have been fortified. Here are some options you can use to increase your plant sterol intake and promote a healthy heart!
Avocados, 1 small 0.13 grams
Corn Oil, 1 tablespoon 0.13 grams
Sunflower Seeds, 1/4 cup 0.19 grams
Oat Bar with plant sterols, 1 bar 0.4 grams
Orange Juice with plant sterols 1.0 gram
Vegetable oil spread with plant sterols, 1 tablespoon 1.0 gram
Fruit & yogurt flavored minidrink with plant sterols, 3 oz. bottle 2.0 grams
If you like this health tip, subscribe to The Heart of Health to receive bi-weekly heart health and weight loss tips from dietitian Lisa Nelson.
Image courtesy of rakratchada torsap / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
