A Healthy Diet and Lifestyle are Key to Heart Health
Did you know the American Heart Association released updated dietary suggestions for heart health? The next few blogs in our series will be focused on new guidance from the American Heart Association. This week, we’re talking about dietary patterns, and we don’t just mean Taco Tuesdays or Friday Pizza Night. We want you thinking about how and why you choose the foods you do.
It’s common that other responsibilities like job hours, caretaking, or after school activities play a role in the food choices and habits of households. Therefore, it’s important to consider how life patterns can affect dietary patterns and, ultimately, heart health. Take, for example, a recent American habit, the loss of the regular family dinner. According to Dr. Ann Fishel of the Family Dinner Project, 70% of American families do not eat together regularly, a factor known to impact the cardiovascular health of teens.
So, what are dietary patterns? The American Heart Association defines dietary patterns as “the balance, variety, and combination of foods and beverages habitually consumed.” In other words, think beyond WHAT you eat. Ask yourself, “What are the rhythms and habits of my diet?”
Evidence-based eating patterns associated with low heart disease risk:
Many of these principles are present in researched dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) style, Healthy US-Style, and healthy vegetarian diets.
But these eating patterns or food combinations are not just for adults struggling with heart disease. Research suggests that adhering to healthy eating patterns over a lifetime matters. Research even includes maternal-fetal nutrition. In fact, one study tracked children for 20 years and concluded that many dietary habits learned in childhood continue into adulthood.
Now, consider your habits and the habits of your household. Are your eating patterns heart-healthy? If not, what keeps them from being heart-healthy? Is there no time for cooking? No time for meal prep? Could you start by adding healthy food rather than subtracting? Take stock of your dietary patterns today for healthier hearts tomorrow!
