World Heart Day

World Heart Day takes place on 29 September every year with a focus on creating heart-healthy environments. By ensuring that people are able to make heart-healthy choices wherever they live, work and play, World Heart Day encourages us all to reduce our cardiovascular risk.

Did you know?

• Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia
• Key risk factors that contribute to heart disease are largely preventable, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol
• Two in three Australian adults are overweight or obese which is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease

Our dietitian team have outlined some tips to help you make heart healthy choices as recommended by The Australian Heart Foundation.

Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits

Eating enough fruits and vegetables can help lower your risk of disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. For good health, try to eat at least five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit every day.

Eat plenty of wholegrains instead of processed grains

The fibre in wholegrain foods can help reduce LDL cholesterol (known as bad cholesterol), and this can lower your risk of heart disease. As a bonus, the fibre in whole grains also helps you feel fuller for longer, which can help with weight management. Examples of wholegrains include – brown rice, oats, quinoa, whole grain bread, popcorn, buckwheat. Aim to include whole grain foods at each meal to reap its benefits.

Include a variety of healthy protein-rich foods

Some protein-rich foods are better choices than others. The best options are plant-based proteins like beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts and seeds. We are also encouraged to eat more fish due to its omega 3 fatty acids which have been found to be cardio-protective. These foods have been shown to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Eggs and poultry are also protein-rich foods that can be enjoyed as part of a heart-healthy eating pattern and if you eat red meat, it’s best to limit it to 1-3 meals per week as research shows excess intake is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and colorectal cancer.

Cut down on saturated fats and include healthy fats and oils

Different types of fats can impact your health differently. Healthy fats can help protect your heart, while unhealthy fats can increase your risk of developing heart disease. Choose foods with high amounts of healthy fats such as avocados, olives, nuts and seeds, and use healthy oils for cooking, for example, olive, canola, sunflower, peanut and soybean oil. These foods can help lower your cholesterol. Other ways to decrease saturated fats include:

• Removing fats from meats
• Removing skin from chicken
• Limiting sweet and savoury pastries
• Limiting sweet biscuits
• Limiting fried and packaged fried foods

Exercise

Regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your heart health. Increasing your physical activity from as little as 10 minutes a day to the Australian Government’s recommended 30 to 45 minutes a day, five or more days of the week can help reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. It can also prevent and manage many conditions and diseases, including some cancers, type 2 diabetes and depression.

Slash the salt

Eating salt increases the level of sodium in your diet. Over time, a high level of sodium in your blood can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. When your blood pressure is too high for too long, you could be at major risk for developing heart disease. Processed and packaged foods are responsible for most of the salt in people’s diet. The best way to reduce salt is to eat a diet based on fresh foods like fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, herbs and spices can be used to flavour foods instead of adding salt.

Here are some ways your workplace could engage in creating a heart healthy environment:

• Offer fruit bowls instead of packets of biscuits or cookies
• Have exercise initiatives set in place e.g. creating a walking/running group which can be incorporated into a 20 minute lunch break
• Provide low fat milk to go with teas and coffees
• Offer tea and coffee only as opposed to having chocolate or chai powders as these can be quite high in sugar

Get in contact with one of our remote mining, aged care or education specialists to discuss our industry-specific healthy eating program.