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