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If you’re a heart patient trying to work on losing weight to improve your health, you may be wondering if some of the popular heart-healthy diets, like the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet or Mediterranean diet are actually able to help you do that. And the short answer is yes, if you are making wise food choices and watching your portions.
The heart-healthy or cardiac diet pattern is a great example of how to create a generally well balanced diet. When you are eating healthier foods most of time and in appropriate portions, you can be setting yourself up for success with weight control. In this article, we’ll discuss why that is.
Quick disclaimer—although I am a registered dietitian nutritionist, your reading of this or any articles on this website does not constitute medical nutrition therapy advice nor create a practitioner-client relationship. The information I provide here on this website is for educational and informational purposes only. Please see my full disclaimer for more information.
You’re Switching to Mostly Whole Grains
As you’ve probably heard plenty of times, whole grain foods are a go-to staple of a heart-healthy eating pattern. There are several reasons why.
First, whole grains contain all of the original nutrients—the vitamins and minerals have not been stripped away from the product by refining processes. When you eat whole grains, you’re getting a “natural” package, or the most benefit by less processing.
Second, whole grains contain fiber. This would be the naturally occurring fiber, which more refined/processed grain products have had taken away by the refining process. The fiber in whole grain products is helpful in promoting satiety—in other words, it keeps you full.
When you have this combination of vitamins and minerals along with fiber, you’re getting the optimal nutritional benefits that your body will use for all of its cellular processes. And the fiber-containing whole grain foods don’t empty from your stomach as quickly as foods without fiber. This means that you shouldn’t notice hunger as soon since it takes longer for your stomach to empty the fiber-containing foods in the intestines to be further digested.
So as you can see, whole grain foods provide definite benefits for weight control. I encourage you to try them as you can; you may find a new favorite food. And for those of you who enjoy popcorn, you may be pleased to know that popcorn is a whole grain, so it counts!
You’re Choosing Lean Proteins and Low-Fat Dairy Products
Protein is an important part of both a heart-healthy diet and one that helps to control weight. Although we mainly think of meat, poultry, and fish as main proteins, dairy products do contain a fair amount of protein as well.
Protein foods are beneficial to weight control in that they help you feel fuller longer. This is because they take longer to empty out of the stomach than carbohydrates do. They also help to provide the building blocks for our muscles; the more muscle you have, the more calories you can burn.
Furthermore, when you choose lean protein sources (with fat removed or higher percentage of lean noted on the label), you are automatically choosing a lower-calorie option. The same goes for low-fat dairy—fewer calories to consume. Fewer calories in general means less opportunity for body weight to increase.
(However, please note that I am not advocating for extreme calorie deficits. I would highly encourage discussing with your dietitian or doctor about what a right amount of calories for you may be.)
As with anything, portion control is important. Aim for about a palm-sized portion of lean meats, fish, and poultry. Check the label for dairy products—often a serving will be a cup of milk, an ounce or 1/4 cup of cheese, or half to one cup of yogurt.
You’re Eating More Fruits and Vegetables and Legumes
A heart-healthy diet discussion wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the importance of fruits, vegetables, and legumes. All of these foods are key parts of the well known cardiac-friendly diets, like the DASH and Mediterranean diets.
Fruits, vegetables, and legumes are good sources of fiber, just like whole grains. Once again, increasing fiber intake helps to curb hunger, which hopefully leads to improved weight control by eating fewer calories.
Like whole grains, these food groups also contain important vitamins and minerals that your body needs for everyday functioning. Therefore fruits, vegetables, and legumes are some pretty heart-healthy foods that can also help you lose weight or in maintaining a healthy weight.
You’re Substituting Heart-Healthy Fats
Concerns with Saturated and Trans Fats
Another important part of following a heart-healthy diet is substituting heart-healthy fats for less healthy fats. As far as we know at this point, eating patterns that are higher in saturated fat and trans fat are not as beneficial to the heart. They appear to have a role in increasing LDL cholesterol; higher levels of LDL cholesterol have been associated with greater risks of cardiovascular disease.
Sources of saturated fat include the fatty areas/marbling on meat, the skin on poultry, tropical oils (like palm and coconut) and full-fat dairy. There is some debate about full-fat dairy at this time; while it may have more of a neutral effect on risk for heart disease, you may still want to choose lower-fat dairy products if you’re watching your weight.
Trans fats are usually found in products as partially hydrogenated oils. For the most part, products these days should be free of trans fats. However, there are some products that may still contain them. Always check the ingredients list to be sure.
Benefits of Mono- and Polyunsaturated Fats
An eating plan that emphasizes substituting in healthier fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) for saturated and trans fats can be beneficial to both your heart and your weight. For example, many nuts and seeds are good sources of monounsaturated fat, which may improve HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) and lower LDL (the “bad” cholesterol). They also contain some protein and fiber, which again, help with fullness.
As for polyunsaturated fats, one well known subcategory of these fats are omega-3 fatty acids, most commonly found in certain types of fish, like salmon. You may also find them (in the plant version) in walnuts. As a whole, polyunsaturated fats may have beneficial effects on your total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
So, have I convinced you as to the benefits of substituting heart-healthy fats?
You’re Reducing Added Sugar and Sodium
While not actual food groups, added sugar and sodium deserve mention in the context of a heart-healthy diet and weight control. For all the foods we’ve mentioned so far, the majority of these are basically low in added sugars and sodium. However, some of the foods discussed do have versions of them that are higher in added sugars and sodium—always check the label.
So why is an excess of these two nutrients significant? There are several reasons. First, let’s concentrate on added sugars.
Added Sugar
Most of the time, products with higher amounts of added sugars are usually higher in calories and lower in important nutrients. As a whole, they may not provide much nutritional value; but they still may provide quite a few calories. You also may not feel as full by eating these products, and in turn you may end up eating more calories than you intended.
Let’s take a fruit juice drink (that contains maybe 10% or less real juice) versus a piece of fruit. The fruit juice drink (not 100% juice) has had sugar added to it; there may be a few naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, but probably not that much. It also won’t have much (if any) fiber unless fiber was in some way added to it.
The piece of fruit, on the other hand, still contains its vitamins and minerals, likely in larger amounts. It also has fiber and water, which both can help with fullness. The juice drink, in contrast, won’t help you feel as satisfied—you’ll likely be getting more calories with less satiety. So, which item sounds like a better idea?
Sodium
Now let’s move on to sodium. Similarly to added sugars, foods with higher amounts of sodium are also often associated with a greater amount of calories. Let’s take restaurant food as an example.
In restaurants, foods are generally prepared to taste as good as possible. This means that they will often have more sodium than you would add if you were cooking the same type of food at home. It is possible that if you’re enjoying the restaurant food so much, you may again eat more than you originally planned—this means more calories in.
Also, portion sizes of most restaurant foods have increased over the years. You may end up with a lot more food on your plate at a restaurant than you would if you were making a meal at home. Once again, it’s easier to eat more of the food than you had planned, which means more calories in.
While it certainly is possible to be successful with portion control at restaurants, it takes some planning. You may want to look up nutrition information (if available) ahead of time so you’re prepared. And don’t discount the benefits of taking half or more of your entree home.
You’re Consuming Overall Healthy Foods in Appropriate Portions
Last in the list of reasons why a heart-healthy diet can also benefit your weight is portion control. Portion control has been alluded to multiple times in the earlier sections of this article. Without portion control, it is possible to still eat too much of heart-healthy foods.
However, portion control may come a little easier when you’re eating more heart-healthy foods. As mentioned before, the protein, fiber, and water content of these healthier foods can help you feel fuller so you eat less overall. And therefore you’ll be eating fewer calories, which can help to promote weight loss.
So be mindful of your portions. If you need help figuring out how much of a food to eat, check out the information on the MyPlate.gov website to help you manage.
Conclusion
As we end our discussion on the benefits of a heart-healthy diet for weight control, I hope you’ve found this information helpful. Wherever you’re at now, there’s always something you can learn and work on implementing into your meal pattern.
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