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Since the start of the year, you may have noticed an uptick of fad diets. Maybe it’s your mom trying a pescatarian regime, or your neighbor raving about his new Mediterranean diet. With so many diet trends buzzing around, it can be hard to separate what works from what doesn’t. This is especially true when it comes to heart healthy eating.
The American Heart Association released a study comparing diets and their heart healthy potential and organized the results in four tiers. With the help of Kelly Elliot, RD at Intermountain Health’s Denver Midtown Clinic - Weight Loss Center, we turned the study’s results into easy-to-digest bites.
“It is important to always be mindful of your diet to reduce risk factors for heart disease,” said Kelly. “Creating a lifestyle that works for you as an individual that you can follow is what matters, because it’s what you will stick to!”
Whether you’re a seasoned diet tryer, or just dipping your toes in heart-healthy waters, there’s important information for everyone.
Starting from the bottom of the barrel, we meet paleolithic and ketogenic diets. These diets, often hailed for their weight loss potential, may miss the mark when it comes to nourishing our hearts.
The paleolithic diet, while rooted in our ancestral past, falls short in meeting heart-healthy guidelines. With its emphasis on meat and fat, and limited intake of fruits, grains, and legumes, it takes a detour off the heart health highway.
Similarly, ketogenic diets focus on slashing carbs and loading up on fats. By cutting out essential food groups like fruits and grains, we risk missing key nutrients.
“These diets don't limit saturated fats, which can raise your LDL, which is the ‘bad’ cholesterol,” said Kelly. “One way to modify these diets is to reduce saturated fat by consuming nuts and seeds instead of animal proteins, but this has to be balanced with caloric intake.”
Kelly also added that because these diets are low in carbohydrates, they could be beneficial for people with diabetes. However, because diabetics are at a higher heart disease risk, their saturated fats should be limited.
Tier 3 diets include very low-fat and low-carb options, and present mixed heart health benefits.
“Both of these diets can potentially help with weight loss without omitting food groups and can help lower risk factors for heart disease,” said Kelly.
Very low-fat diets, while aiming to reduce overall fat intake, may inadvertently miss the mark on essential fatty acids. Likewise, low-carb diets, with their focus on slashing carbohydrates, could lead to a decrease in fiber-rich foods, which play a vital role in heart health.
“The drawback is that with low fat diets, they can lead to deficiencies in protein and essential fatty acids and B12, that the body requires for good health,” said Kelly. “On the other hand, a low carb diet can overemphasize animal-based protein and restrict fiber and increase saturated fat intake.”
Vegan and low-fat diets are the heart of Tier 2. These dietary paths offer a bounty of heart-healthy benefits – with some caveats.
The vegan diet, with its plant-based focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, embraces the power of plants for heart wellness. However, tread carefully to ensure you’re meeting your nutritional needs, particularly for vitamin B12.
“No animal protein is consumed in vegan diets, so they are very low in saturated fat intake, but the restrictive diet can lead to B12 deficiency,” said Kelly. “It is recommended to include a B12 supplement and choose plant-based milk alternatives.”
Meanwhile, the low-fat diet promises reduced cholesterol and a lighter load on our hearts. By emphasizing lean proteins, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables, it is a good heart healthy diet. But it’s important to avoid overconsumption of less healthy carbohydrates, such as added sugars.
“People with high cholesterol or high LDL cholesterol can benefit from replacing foods high in saturated fats with foods that have unsaturated fats,” said Kelly.
Started from the bottom, and now we’re here with Tier 1’s DASH-Style, Mediterranean, pescatarian, and ovo/lacto-vegetarian diets. It’s the pinnacle of heart-healthy eating, where the nutrients shine.
We’ll start with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet. By the name alone, you might infer this diet’s ultra heart healthy nature. It emphasizes 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, whole grains, plant protein, and low-fat dairy, while limiting sodium.
According to Kelly, the DASH diet’s sodium limitations help cut out highly processed foods, which can help control weight and high blood pressure. “This diet provides adequate variety with adequate protein, moderate healthy fats and moderate healthy carbs intake, while minimizing sodium intake,” she said.
Moving onto the Mediterranean diet, with its emphasis on olive oil, fish, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These heart healthy foods make this a great choice for reducing heart disease risk. However, the Mediterranean diet also includes moderate alcohol consumption, which means two or less drinks for men a day, and one or less drinks for women per day.
Kelly cautioned against misinterpreting what moderate alcohol consumption is. “This does not mean, to have no alcohol for 3-5 days and then have all 3-5 drinks at one time,” she said. “These drinks should not include added sugar such as margarita mix, juices, and sugary sodas.”
A pescatarian diet is similar to a vegetarian diet, with the addition of fish, and sometimes includes dairy and eggs. Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy, but not beef, poultry, fish, or pork. These diets may be lower in saturated fats, especially if whole milk products are not consumed. The biggest challenge with these diets boils down to protein.
Kelly explained it simply as there being complete and incomplete proteins. While animal proteins contain all essential amino acids, plant-based proteins are incomplete, and must be combined for full nutritional benefits.
“The way to do this is to combine a nut or seed or bean with a grain,” said Kelly. “For example, red beans and brown rice, or nut butter on whole grain bread, will allow you to consume all of the essential amino acids.”
While these diets might seem daunting, remember you’re not alone. A registered dietitian, like Kelly, can be an excellent starting source.
“Dietitians are full of ideas and strategies to help each individual overcome barriers to create effective behavior changes,” said Kelly. “It’s important to remember that baby steps and small changes lead to big impacts on your health over time!
Whether you're sticking to tried-and-true favorites like the DASH plan or exploring new diet horizons, the key is finding what works best for your heart. Remember, it's not about perfection – it's about progress. So go ahead, savor those veggies, indulge in some heart-smart protein, and above all, listen to what your body needs.
Dignity Care is a homegrown business in Boulder.In the 1990s, Mary Kirk, a registered dietitian, began caregiving for family and relatives. Her husband, Ged, offered a companion travel service for the elderly and disabled. Together they established Dignity Care, LLC in 1997 as a home care business with just two caregivers and a home office.As demand for home care service increased, Mary recruited additional caregivers, but always with an emphasis on the compassionate, respectful, personalized care that was Dignity Cares trademark. Mary created her own approach to senior home care, unique in this area.With this dedication and passion to provide the best caregivers in the Boulder County region, Dignity Care has continued to grow and in 2009 became licensed as a Class A home care provider. We specialize in using Certified Nursing Assistants on our teams so we can bring you the skill and experience you deserve, if you have any questions, please call us at 303-444-4040.
Too many seniors grapple with isolation and depression, but these are not a normal part of growing older. They are treatable medical illnesses, much like heart disease or diabetes. Depression is a serious illness affecting approximately 15 out of every 100 adults over age 65 in the United States.Seniors experiencing feelings of depression and isolation have a higher risk of hospital admissions, as well as a higher risk for being scammed. Not to mention it makes for a miserable life.So, what can you do? Helping seniors stay healthy means more than ensuring they get good physical care. Individuals living alone miss out on the stimulation of interactions with others on a regular basis. Our caregivers serve that dual purpose of providing physical care and social connection. We enjoy our clients, building a relationship with them, and sharing the highs and lows of their days. Caregivers can laugh with their clients and be an empathetic ear. We make sure our clients are getting out of the house and attending events and activities that interest them.Hiring a caregiver to help out, even for a couple of hours each week, brings conversation and spark along with the physical help. Caregivers are a good antidote for depression. If you have any questions, please call us at 303-444-4040.
Hot summer days are a good time for everyone to think about staying hydrated. For older adults the topic of hydration is a year-round discussion that never goes away. Its a serious issue for most seniors but doesnt get resolved because it needs to be addressed every day and cant be solved with a pill.Seniors have a very high risk for dehydration, which is one of the most frequent causes of hospitalization after the age of 65. They have a greater risk of dehydration for many reasons, including the fact that as we age, our kidneys become less efficient at conserving fluids, our sense of thirst weakens, and we are less able to adjust to changes in temperature. Some medications like diuretics, sedatives, and laxatives can also cause increased fluid loss.Dehydration can cause temporary symptoms that mimic symptoms of Alzheimers. If dementia-like symptoms seem to appear suddenly, it could be dehydration which is easily curable.Symptoms of dehydration range from minor to severe and include persistent fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, dizziness, nausea, forgetfulness, confusion, lethargy, increased heart rate, sunken eyes, dry mouth, dark colored urine. Urine should be clear to pale yellow. I tell my clients that if their urine is darker than pale yellow, they should head straight to the kitchen from the bathroom and drink a full glass of water. Keeping a glass of water beside you all day to sip on rarely results in someone drinking enough fluids. Its more effective to drink the entire glass, even if its a small glass. Seniors cant rely on their sense of thirst to tell them when to drink water. Scheduling a glass at each meal and/or after a bathroom visit, making sure to drink the full glass, is the best way to make sure youve gotten your full daily amount.If you have any questions, please call us at 303-444-4040.
Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital is a community-based, acute-care hospital in Lafayette, Colorado. Intermountain Health is a nonprofit faith-based health system with hospitals in two states. At Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital, we are happy to tell you about us: our compassionate caregivers, our clinical excellence, our award-winning care and even our beautiful campus. But its really all about you. Our patients and families are the center of every thought, communication and action that takes place in this healing space.
Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital senior E.R. is Colorado's first E.R. facility constructed with seniors needs in mind. By implementing a philosophy of care for the geriatric patient and implementing a variety of screenings designed for the senior population, physicians hope that their senior E.R. will help lower readmission rates and reduce the risk of harmful drug interactions. In order to give excellent emergency care to seniors in our community including specialized screening and care, physicians and nurses have taken workshops in sensory appreciation and ageism to learn how to better communicate with older adults and their caregivers. The Senior ER provides a less chaotic and stressful environment for senior patients while optimizing their discharge to the most appropriate and safe environment.