August 31, 2022 | Loma Linda, California, United States | Lisa Aubry | Loma Linda University Health Center | IAD
The food we eat and how we eat it affects our health in a big way, especially our heart health. Developing a healthy relationship with food using basic guiding principles can therefore play a vital role in improving heart health according to the Doctor Anthony Hilliardhead of the cardiology department of theLoma Linda University International Heart Institute.
The “Eat to Live” program (Eat to Live) offers a practical framework of dietary changes for heart health. Eating to live is regarding seeing food as fuel for the body, said Dr. Hilliard. Often the reverse approach, i.e. “live to eat”, indicates that a disproportionate amount of pleasure is primarily or exclusively in control of the nutritious experience, which he says generally leads to choices unhealthy.
Conversely, eating to live is a way to optimize the state of the body to take advantage of many other possibilities offered by life, such as physical activity. According to Dr. Hilliard, it is possible to harmonize the two, living to eat and eating to live.
“The food you should choose to put in your body should be the one that allows it to function optimally,” he explained. There is a lot of happiness in eating while ensuring the body finds well-being and value in what you give it. It’s a win-win situation when we get pleasure from doing both. »
Plaque buildup in the vascular system, which affects heart function, is caused by our food choices, he said, and it’s critical to know what components make food unhealthy and how they work. affect the body.
According to Dr. Hilliard, foods high in sugar, also known as carbohydrates, play a significant causal role in weight gain and obesity, one of the major contributing factors to heart disease. In response to foods high in sugar, the body triggers a large production of insulin, which stores sugar in fat. It is this phenomenon that causes the “overdose” of sugar and the drastic rise in insulin to prevent the muscles and organs from extracting the nutritional value of the food ingested.
However, complex carbs with fiber are a better option—brown rice rather than white rice, or whole-wheat bread with nuts rather than white bread. It takes longer for the body to digest fiber from complex carbohydrates. Thus, sugars circulate more slowly in the blood and the body avoids the spike in glucose and insulin production that creates fat.
For those looking to optimize their heart health and adopt the Eat-to-Live and Live-to-Eat approach, Dr. Hilliard recommends a few basic steps that will take you a long way.
Eat fresh food; in other words, avoid foods that do not expire.
These tend to be processed and high in sugar, including unhealthy preservatives, like corn syrup.
“If you left something on the counter and it wouldn’t go bad over time, then that’s a sign you shouldn’t eat it,” he said.
Include a variety of colors on your plate.
“If you look at your plate and everything is the same color, then your plate probably lacks variety. »
To clearly visualize a balanced and colorful meal, it is useful to divide the plate. Half should contain fruits and vegetables. A quarter of the plate should be devoted to protein and the other quarter to green leafy vegetables and legumes. By doing this, you have a good chance of finding several colors on your plate, added Dr. Hilliard.
Control the rate of ingestion and portions of food.
Dr. Hilliard recommends imagining that your stomach is divided into three layers. When you eat, the bottom layer of your stomach should be filled with food, on top of which should be a layer of water or liquids. The third, the upper layer of the stomach, should contain only air, that is, remain unused. “The goal is not to fill up,” he said, “but to get enough fuel to do an activity. »
According to this approach from Dr. Hilliard, you should be able to exercise following eating. If you feel like you mightn’t, you probably ate too much. “If there is something you like so much, eat it at every meal, but in small quantities. If you want another portion of lasagna, wait three hours. »
Staying true to these basic principles will lay a solid foundation for good heart and overall health, Dr. Hilliard said. From there, he says, you can continue to build on those pillars and customize your approach to what’s best for your body.
Eating to live and living to eat is not a diet, which is temporary. Instead, he recommends thinking of this philosophy regarding food and eating as a “lifetime adventure” that will constantly require adjustments as the body evolves.
The cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program from Loma Linda University offers more tips on healthy eating habits for those who have had a heart attack or procedure, or are living with heart disease. Visit the International Heart Institute on line to learn more regarding cardiovascular care services offered at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Translation: Marie-Michèle Robitaille
