Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
Jose M. Baez, M.D., F.A.C.P., Board Certified by American Board of Internal Medicine
You probably don’t spend much time thinking about your heart throughout the day. If it is working properly, you probably don’t think about it at all. However, the heart is the most important muscle in your body and deserves a little thought to assure that it is pumping blood and oxygen to all of your organs.
When your heart doesn’t get the care it needs, serious problems can develop in the lining of the arteries, which then lead to plaque formation. Plaque is what leads to heart attacks and blockage of blood flow in the arteries. It is important to understand the conditions that affect your heart and the habits that can help prevent or manage them. Taking action will help you keep your ticker in top shape.
As you may already know, eating certain foods can increase (or decrease) your risk of heart disease. However, changing our well-established eating habits can be difficult. Learning how to eat properly shouldn’t be just a New Year’s resolution that gets thrown out by Valentine’s Day. Once you learn which foods to eat more of and which ones to limit, you will be well on your way to a heart-healthy diet.
Strategies for a heart-healthy diet
1. Control portion sizes
Believe it or not, how much you eat can be as important as what you eat. Overloading at mealtime can leave you not only feeling stuffed, but it also leaves you way over the normal number of calories you should be taking in. This is especially difficult when we eat out. When we head to our favorite restaurant, we can be caught in a guilt trap. We feel guilty that we’ve paid all of that money and didn’t clean our plate, but if we eat it all and feel stuffed and guilty. It can feel like a no-win situation. That is why eating at home is really our best bet.
Here are 3 simple things we can do to help control our portion size:
• Use a small plate or bowl to help control your portions.
• Eat more low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables
• Eat smaller amounts of high-calorie, high-sodium foods, such as refined, processed or fast foods.
2. Increase your fruits and vegetables intake
Your parents were right: Eat your fruits and veggies! These provide a variety of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber — all things known to help prevent disease. If you have high blood pressure, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and grains is especially recommended.1
How to increase fruits and vegetables in your diet:
• Buy pre-cut vegetables and fruit (fresh or frozen), and then bag them up for a snack or to add to a dish.
• Have a vegetable-based soup or garden salad with light dressing with your usual sandwich at lunch.
• Make a fruit and veggie smoothie with produce that needs to be eaten quickly.
3. Choose whole grains
Whole grains are good sources of fiber and other nutrients that play a role in regulating blood pressure and heart health. You can increase the number of whole grains in a heart-healthy diet by making simple substitutions for refined grain products. Or try a new whole grain, such as quinoa or barley, if you haven’t already. And just to be clear, white flour isn’t a whole grain and since it is used in white bread, noodles, cakes, and a plethora of other things, think twice before reaching for any of those.
4. Limit saturated fats and trans fats
Not all fat is bad. There is actually “good fat” that we need in our diets. However, trans fats and saturated fats are not among those. These fats raise your LDL cholesterol which can cause plaque buildup in your arteries.
A better choice is consuming good fats, or monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. You’ll find these in nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, flaxseed, soy and fatty fish. Red meat is high in saturated fat, as are certain kinds of cheese. So those should be avoided or at least limited.2
There are simple ways to cut back on saturated and trans fats:
• Trim fat off meat or choose lean meats with less than 10% fat.
• Use less butter, margarine and shortening when cooking and serving.
• Use low-fat substitutions, when possible, for a heart-healthy diet. For example, top a baked potato with low-sodium salsa or low-fat yogurt rather than butter, or use sliced whole fruit or low-sugar fruit spread on toast instead of margarine.
About Dr. Baez
José M Baez MD, FACP is a Board-certified Internal Medicine specialist with over 30 years of experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He is a Graduate of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in NY. As a Ward Attending at Harlem Hospital, affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, he served the Greater NYC community. Subsequently, he established a private practice in Fairfield County, CT. He was also Assistant Clinical Professor at University of Connecticut, School of Medicine. Dr. Baez has been a stable member of the Naples community for 10 years, a member in good standing with the Collier County Medical Society and voted Naples Illustrated Top Physician 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
If you’d like to speak to a professional about how to eat heart-healthy, contact Dr. Jose Baez, MD.
Dr. Baez is a Board-certified physician with more than 30 years’ experience. He can be contacted via email at info@JoseMBaezMD.com or by calling his office at 239.777.0663. His website (www.josembaezmd.com) includes information about concierge medicine and how it can work for you.
José M Baez MD
11181 HEALTH PARK BLVD., SUITE 1180
NAPLES, FL 34110
(239) 777-0663
1. 8 steps to a heart-healthy diet (2022) Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-healthy-diet/art-20047702.
2. Zaleska (2023) How to create a heart-healthy diet plan, Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/heart-healthy-diet.
