Eulalee Thompson

Do you play cards? Well, that deck of cards could help cut your heart disease risk. "Your serving of chicken and meat should be no more than the size of two decks of cards per day and include one deck of fish," said Frances Mahfood, nutritionist at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica.

Try visualising meat serving the size of two decks. It's perhaps much less than the chunks of meat that now lands in your stomach each day. Sounds like a bad habit that needs to change if you are interested in protecting your heart and lowering your risk for disease. Talk about bad habits and here are some more of them that need changing to protect your heart - eating too many calories which, in short speed, will sit as fat around the waistline; watching too much television instead of doing some exercise and smoking.

While encouraging Jamaicans to become as active as possible and to watch their weights, Mrs. Mahfood gives some heart-healthy diet tips. The first thing she suggests, however, is to always watch important indices such as high cholesterol and body mass index and then take your diet back to basics.

1. Make your diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are not only low in calories but high in soluble fibre which can help lower blood cholesterol and, therefore, reduce your risk for heart disease. MayoClinic.com also states that phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables may also help prevent cardiovascular conditions. How do you change the habit? Wash your fruits and always have them ready-to-eat and visible in the kitchen; keep freshly made salads in the refrigerator; package them and take them to school or work. Mrs. Mahfood says that some individuals, such as those who are overweight, should be moderate in fruit and nut intake.

2. Make the switch to whole grains. If you like breads then by-pass bread made with white or refined flour and take the whole grain or brown ones; gradually substitute white rice with brown rice. The taste will grow on you and the high fibre, vitamins and minerals in whole grain products will protect your heart.

3. Be careful with fats. Mrs. Mahfood recommends only non-fat or low-fat milk and unsaturated oils for example, Canola oil or olive oil. "I don't stress fat-free diets because you need some fat in your diet," she said. However, she believes that trans fats should be eliminated - zero per cent trans fats should be tolerated in the diet. Trans fats, of course, are found in shortening, many fast food products and the baked goods on the supermarket shelves. Limit the use of butter and margarine to control other 'bad fats', that is saturated fats, but Mrs. Mahfood says that it's ok to include healthy fats, such as avocado, in the diet.

What about supplements?

After making these heart-smart changes, should supplements be added to the diet? Supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to lower LDL (low density lipoprotein) and vitamins A, C and E plus selenium, the antioxidants that fight free radicals have also been touted as heart-smart choices. Maybe so, but Mrs. Mahfood says, "I prefer to tell people to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. You should see a rainbow of colours on your plate. You don't need supplements (especially) when you can get your omega-3 from fish such as salmon, though maybe some clients can't afford that."

eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com