It’s not always easy to make the right nutritional choices when recommendations appear to continuously change. We’d been told that saturated fats like butter, red meat and fried food were harmful and could potentially impact a senior’s chances of developing heart issues. However, later research indicated there isn’t enough substantiation that those who refrained from eating these delicacies saw improved senior heart health – and therefore, we went back to our old ways due to the green light to select butter over margarine.
And yet, as stated in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers clarify that the lack of apparent results in limiting fatty foods is likely connected to equally poor nutritional choices selected in the place of those fats – such as refined carbs. In the study, it was noted that those who exchanged fatty foods in their diet with more healthy choices, like olive oil (a polyunsaturated fat) and whole grains did reduce their heart disease risk up to 25%.
As stated by Adela Hruby, one of many researchers in this study, “We know that people don’t just drop 10% of their calories…and not replace them with other things. What they're adding in to replace what they’re not eating is really important.”
The study, led by Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was amazingly extensive, tracking the results of almost 130,000 participants of both genders over 30 years. Keeping track of dietary choices and any heart-related conditions, it was determined that both women and men who ate carbohydrates rather than fatty foods were developing a nearly equal risk of cardiovascular disease – a statistic missed in older studies that had determined there clearly was no advantage to reducing the level of saturated fat in a meal plan.
So, what might be the takeaway from this research? Improved heart health may be attained by not only decreasing the total amount of saturated fat in a dietary plan, but also by selecting healthier items instead of foods with lots of sugar or processed flour-based foods.
Effraim Home Care is always on hand to plan and prepare heart-healthy meals that are not only nutritious, but delicious, helping older individuals decrease their risk for heart attacks and disease. We are also available to assist senior adults with:
- Making appropriate dietary choices, as well as picking up groceries so that fresh, healthy foods are always available
- Medication reminders
- Providing encouragement to engage in doctor-approved exercise programs
- Safe transportation to doctor appointments as well as other outings
- And more
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