Excerpted from "A Year of Health Hints"
365 Practical Ways to Feel Better and Live Longer
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of premature death
among Americans. And it's largely self-inflicted: When vital
arteries leading to the heart become clogged by fatty deposits of
cholesterol, the blockage can lead to a heart attack. Luckily, a
few simple changes in eating habits can reduce your risk of heart
disease. The main focus is to reduce total fat in your daily
diet.
Substitute skim
or 1/2% to 1% low-fat milk for 2% or whole milk.
Eat less meat and
fewer eggs. A good rule of thumb is no more than 3 to 5 ounces of
meat per
serving and no more
than five to seven servings a week, and no more than three egg
yolks per
week (unless your
physician advises otherwise).
Use one egg yolk
and two whites for every two eggs required in a recipe.
Trim all visible
fat from meat before cooking. Remove skin from poultry.
Bake, roast, or
broil meat, poultry, or fish. Don't fry.
Chill soup made
from meat or poultry, then skim off the fat before reheating and
serving.
Poach foods like
fish or eggs instead of sautéing them in butter.
To cut down on the
need for oil in cooking, use a vegetable cooking spray and/or
pans with a
nonstick surface.
Substitute liquid
vegetable oil for solid shortening, and replace butter with
margarine, and use less.
Limit how much
oil-based or creamy salad dressing you use. Substitute oil-free
salad dressing,
lemon juice, or
flavored vinegar.
Use olive oil or
canola oil. Some research shows they may protect against heart
disease
Bake, steam, or
stir-fry vegetables. Don't deep-fry vegetables or sauté them in
lots of butter.
SOURCE: Adapted from HealthyLife® on Nutrition
(Southfield, Mich.: American Institute for Preventive Medicine,
1988).