Eating to live

Your heart is begging you to step away from the cheeseburger.

The temptation to indulge in greasy fast foods can be overwhelming. When a lack of time meets cheapness and convenience, fried and fatty foods are usually consumed.

The scenario that plays out oh-so often in America is also a main reason why heart disease is the nation’s number one killer.

Dr. JJ Virgin said the focus should be placed on avoiding obesity rather than what to do once people are obese.

Virgin, a renowned nutritionist who has worked with Hollywood stars, Subway and even Dr. Phil, said eating for a healthy heart is the same as eating to lose weight or eating to reduce your risk of cancer. In other words, a heart-healthy diet isn’t tough to achieve.

“The attitude toward weight loss is totally wrong in this country,” Virgin said. “No one is worried about why people get fat in the first place.”

Avoiding obesity — and ultimately heart disease — is a conscious decision Americans have to make for themselves.

The Mayo Clinic recommends seven steps to take in your diet to avoid heart problems. Mayo stresses eating more fruits and vegetables for a low-calorie option packed with fiber. Another recommendation is to opt for low-fat protein sources such as poultry, fish and legumes.

Cutting back fats and cholesterol is also a pivotal step to take. Doing this is one of the most important dietary changes to make because it can directly decrease your likelihood of developing coronary artery disease, which can lead to a plethora of other complications.

The other steps include reducing sodium in your diet, eating more whole grains, to planning your meals and eating in moderation.

Suzanne Farrell, spokeswoman for the American Diatec Association, outlined a few other general guidelines for a heart-healthy diet. She said including whole grains and cholesterol-lowering foods is essential while avoiding saturated and trans fats is important.

“When it comes to heart health, diet is significant,” Farrell said.

Sometimes, eating healthy gets lost in translation. All people worry about is what not to eat. Don’t eat saturated fat. Don’t eat too much sodium. Don’t eat foods high in cholesterol. Blah, blah, blah.

“People always want a list of foods not to eat or what foods to avoid,” she said. “But people might not understand that there are foods they need to include more of.”

If you want to get into the specifics, the American Heart Association recommends keeping your intake of total fat to about 30 percent of your combined daily calories. Saturated fat should only be 7 percent and trans fat should only be 1 percent. The AHA also recommends taking in no more than 300 mg of cholesterol and 2,300 mg of sodium daily.

It can take years to reverse the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle. So, should we focus on the current generation? Or is it too late and we should instead teach America’s children how to live a more heart-healthy lifestyle?

The answer is a little tricky, Virgin says.

“Little kids aren’t going to be healthy without healthy role models. It’s a problem,” Virgin said. “Yes, we have to help the teens. But if the parents are not going along with a healthy lifestyle, the kids are going to go home to crap food at home.”

Emphasizing healthy nutrition needs to be a priority. Too many times people blame their or their children’s obesity on bad genetics, Virgin said.

“(Being obese) doesn’t happen when you’re a kid. It’s from what you’re eating,” she said. “You can dig the grave with the fork.”

Prudence Ticknor, a registered dietitian and health coach with the Gastric Band Institute in Las Vegas, says people need to understand their own behaviors, which will help them to make healthy food choices and avoid overeating. She teaches “mindful eating,” an approach in which people learn to pay close attention to the sensations in their bodies, including the sensations of being hungry and being satisfied.

“Many people who come to me say ‘I don’t even know what hunger is,’” Ticknor said. “Many people have only rare experience with the sensation of hunger.”

Instead, the idea of eating a certain amount of a certain kind of food at a certain time can become a firmly entrenched habit, overriding any sensations of hunger or satiety. When we override and stop paying attention to these sensations, we are laying a foundation for unhealthy eating habits and becoming vulnerable to impulse-eating and overeating.

“I call it a nondiet approach,” Ticknor said. “We focus on awareness instead of rules such as ‘I can’t have this’ or ‘I can’t have that.’ If you want to have ice cream, have a little ice cream. Just don’t have so much.”

Ticknor teaches a breathing technique that helps people to relax and focus on the sensations in their bodies.

“Many people who choose to do the breathing technique have lost weight,” Ticknor said. “It helps to identify internal voices, thoughts and feelings that we may be reacting to by eating.”

Ticknor said that many people eat simply to feel a certain way or to feel relief from stress. Identifying and being aware of this tendency, along with linking our eating behaviors to the sensations of feeling satisfied or hungry can help us develop healthier eating habits.

People need to learn other skills to take control of their eating, such as learning to read food labels, Ticknor said. Pay close attention to serving size. A single container may contain several servings.

If eating out is your downfall, a few small changes at the table can fix that. Ask the wait staff how the food is prepared. Ask your food be cooked with vegetable oil or margarine in lieu of butter. Also, make sure you order your food with no added salt. That’s half the battle. The other half is portion control. As good as the food is, you have to make sure your eyes aren’t bigger than your stomach. Ordering a smaller portion, sharing, or taking half home may not seem all that great. But your heart will thank you over time.

Virgin said eating for your heart doesn’t have to be complicated. She suggested focusing on eating as many vegetables as possible and some fruits every day. She stressed a high-fiber diet and good, lean proteins.

From there, though, there is no blueprint that will work for everyone. Each person’s genetic makeup is a little different, Virgin said. So the exact foods needed aside from the aforementioned staples can vary.

“It’s better to go for a B-plus every day than it is to go for an A-minus,” Virgin said. “That’ s a better way to live.”

At the same time you’re watching what’s on your plate, you should be watching your LDL levels. LDL is commonly referred to as bad cholesterol. You can check your LDL level by going to the doctor and getting a blood test done. Saturated and trans fatty foods are the main culprit in elevating your LDL levels, so it’s important to watch your intake of those fats.

LDL levels are a good gauge of your risk of heart disease. The higher your LDL, the more likely you are to run into heart complications down the road. Eating a diet lower in sodium and cholesterol will help keep your LDL levels down.

Even if your heart isn’t in the best shape, that doesn’t mean you should abandon hope. Changes should be made as soon as possible.

Farrell said people looking to get their heart into shape can be a little frightened at first. After decades of the same eating and exercising habits, it can be difficult to change.

But change must happen to avoid an unhealthy heart, even if the changes are slow.

“Sometimes people may feel intimidated if they’ve lived a certain way their whole life then they’re asked to change their diet,” she said. “You should make small changes over time, taking it gradually.”

The Mediterranean diet is also a popular route to travel for heart health. Studies have shown sticking to this diet helps lower the risk for both cancer and heart disease. The Mediterranean diet isn’t far removed from other heart healthy diets, as it emphasizes healthy fats, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lots of seafood while avoiding most red meats.

The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is another new, yet popular choice. It is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and includes foods low in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. The DASH diet lauds fiber-rich foods like fruits and vegetables.

No matter your current weight, heart health is something to keep in mind. Even if your body is in shape, it doesn’t mean your heart is. Changing your diet doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul. Start slow and stay informed, Farrell said. You may not physically notice the changes, but they will still be taking place.

Joanna Gorman, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with the University Medical Center, says she doesn’t even like using the word “diet.”

“I try to get people to erase it from their vocabularies,” she said. “Try to think of healthy eating instead. Don’t think in the short term. Think of lifestyle.”

That’s an approach that resonates with Keith Ahrens, a Las Vegas resident who lost more than 200 pounds and has kept it off.

“I used to eat 95 percent junk and 5 percent healthy stuff,” Ahrens said. “Now I eat 95 percent healthy and 5 percent junk.”

Ahrens, who now delights in an active and healthy lifestyle, is now certified as a personal trainer by the International Sports Sciences Association and works as a motivational speaker. He has written a book about his achievement and his drive to help others called “Outrunning My Shadow: Surviving Open-Heart Surgery and Battling Obesity/The Decision to Change My Life.”

Gorman recommends eating plenty of fiber to help in feeling full and satisfied. Don’t starve yourself.

“Your body will fight to survive,” she said. “If you eat only once a day, your body will think food is scarce and slow down your metabolism. Many people who come to me and tell me they’re dieting but can’t lose weight. I always ask them, ‘Are you eating?’”

Ahrens stresses the importance of taking a long-term approach one day at a time.

“I just try to eat a little healthier today than I did yesterday,” he said.