Heart healthy holidays

CEBU, Philippines - Only about 20 percent of cholesterol comes from the food we eat. The other 80 percent is made by our own body, according to "Life-

Saving Learning: What you need to know about your heart and cholesterol" published by Pfizer.

Even then, the move to choose a heart healthy diet could save us from a stroke most especially this time of the year when gatherings go left and right and you're expected to partake in not just ordinary meals  - but banquets.

Here is a guide to achieving a Heart Healthy Diet:

Meat, poultry, fish and shellfish (up to 60z./day)

Choose: Lean cutsof meat with fat trimmed, chicken, fish

Escy on: Shellfish such as tahong and talaba

Avoid: Fatty cuts of meat, duck, liver, kidney, sausage,bacon, lechon, regular luncheon meats, hotdogs, cheese burgers, adobong, baboy, dinuguan

Dairy products (2 or more servings/day); 3-4 for pregnant or breastfeeding women

Chose: Skim milk, 1%, fat milk, low-fat, buttermilk, evap, skim milk, low-fat,  yogurt, low-fat, Cottage cheeses, with no more than3gs of fat/ounce

Easy on: 2% fat milk, yogurt, partskim or imitation hard cheeses, "lite" cream cheese, "lite" sour cream

Avoid: whole milk,cream, whipped cream, hard cheeses,  cream cheese, sour cream, kesong puti, queso de bola

Eggs

Easy on: Egg whites

Easy on: Egg yolk (3-4/week)

Fats and oils (approximately 5-8 teaspoons a day)

Chose: Corn, olive, canola, sesame, soybean, and sunflower oils, margarine that has liquid vegetable oil as the first listed ingredient and <2g of saturated or  unhealthy fat per serving

Easy on: Nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, peanut oil

Avoid: Saturated or unhealthy, fat, butter, lard, bacon, fat, coconut oil

Breads, cereals, pasta, rice, dried peas, and beans (6 or more servings a day)

Chose: Most breads, pandesal, wheat bread, rice cakes low-fat crackers, hot and cold cereals, spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, plain baked potato and riceEasy on: Store-bought pancakes, waffles, biscuits, muffins, and  cornbread

Avoid: Croissants, sweet rolls doughnuts crackers made with saturated  or unhealthy oils; egg noodles, pasta and rice with cream, butter or cheese, french fries

Fruits andvegetables (6 or more)

Chose: Fresh, frozen, or dried fruits

Easy on: Canned fruit in heavy syrup

Avoid: Coconut, vegetables prepared in butter, cream or sauce

Snacks (in very limited amounts)

Chose: Low-fat frozen  yogurt, popsicles, hard candy, plain popcorn, pretzels, fruit juices, tea, coffee

Easy on: Ice milk, homemade cakes, cookies and pies prepared with unsaturated

Avoid: Ice cream,can chocolate, pot chips, buttered popcorn, frapp milkshakes, floats,  store-bought pies, most store-bought frosted cakes