Principles of food pairing for people with coronary heart disease

by 60888888 on 2010-02-26 11:02:50

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is gradually being recognized as a "lifestyle disease," and in fact, it has a close relationship with diet. How can the condition be controlled and complications prevented? "Managing your diet" is a crucial step. Three meals a day are essential for living. Below, we provide dietary pairing principles for CHD patients.

First, "eating four-legged animals is not as good as eating two-legged ones, and eating two-legged animals is not as good as eating those without legs." "Four-legged" refers to domestic animals like pigs, cows, and sheep, which have relatively high cholesterol content. "Two-legged" refers to poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese, which are more beneficial to health. "Without legs" refers to fish, which contain high levels of protein, low fat, delicate meat, and are easily digestible. Additionally, mushrooms such as shiitake and button mushrooms are low in calories, not only serving as an important source of plant protein but also rich in various nutrients. Besides supplementing protein, they can help detoxify the body. CHD patients should avoid certain foods, such as fried foods and high-fat foods, and those with higher cholesterol levels should avoid egg yolks.

Second, the content should be diverse. Some CHD patients tend to go to extremes, saying that eating meat is bad and avoiding it altogether, which is unnecessary. Human muscle metabolism also requires protein, including animal protein. For example, when having a buffet, CHD patients can eat, but the key is to eat in the right order. For instance, if you plan to eat three dishes, the first dish should only be vegetables, filling up most of the stomach while ensuring fiber intake; the second dish could be a few pieces of fish or an appropriate amount of chicken or duck meat to supplement protein; the third dish can include one or two slices of watermelon or a few slices of apple. CHD patients should aim for a variety of food types in small quantities. Each person should consume two to three dozen different things daily. In this regard, we can learn from the Japanese, who serve their meals in small plates, where a plate might contain just one slice of tomato or two or three slices of cucumber, but the variety of foods is very extensive. When I eat breakfast, I grab a handful of millet, a handful of yellow rice to make porridge, add a few peanuts or cashews, longan flesh, goji berries, eat a sesame pancake, an egg, and add a few slices of fruit, making this meal consist of eight or nine different items.

Third, eat slowly, and stop when six to seven-tenths full. Studies have confirmed that spending about 30 minutes on a meal, thoroughly chewing, can promote gastric juice secretion, grind the food extremely fine, aid digestion and absorption, and directly reduce gastrointestinal burden. Spending more time chewing allows the appetite center to send correct instructions, creating a sense of fullness and preventing weight gain. Moreover, slow eating is beneficial for lowering postprandial blood glucose. Persisting in slow eating will correspondingly lower blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Fourth, eat more vegetables and fruits. CHD patients should increase their intake of vegetables and fruits, which are rich in high fiber and can lower cholesterol. The American dietary guidelines point out that everyone should eat five different kinds of vegetables and fruits daily. When preparing them, try to use cold mixing or boiling methods to avoid high temperatures destroying the nutritional components.