People suffering from problems of the heart like congestion or past heart failures have very strict dietary regimes recommended to them. With a lot of healthy additions, come a couple of subtractions that make it difficult to lead our usual lifestyles. However, by making a few simple changes in life, like exercising regularly and eating right, one can easily maintain a great lifestyle even post diagnosis of a heart failure or congestion.
Here we discuss five food items which, if you can avoid, can help you lead a perfectly healthy life even after a heart attack and help your heart function better.
1. Sodium
Salt (sodium) is one of the elements present in food that we often tend to miss. A plethora of food items has sodium in them, in some form or the other. Due to its abundant presence, even in the healthiest of foods like cottage cheese, sodium becomes difficult to avoid. Hence, it becomes mandatory to consciously cut down on salt intake while on a post congestive heart failure diet. The very first thing is to avoid adding table salt to foods, whether at home or while in a restaurant. Mention no MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) in the restaurant as it is yet another type of salt. Also, check for sodium amongst ingredients on the packaging of foods before buying them.
2. Processed snacks
Foods like potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, or snack mixes come packed with unhealthy fats and sodium, both in high quantities. When on a diet for the heart, doctors advise patients to lose weight, which becomes impossible while snacking on the aforementioned foods. Instead of buying these unhealthy snacks, try out fruits and vegetables which are high in fibers.
3. Red wine
It is often repeated in medical and non-medical circles that red wine has medicinal effects on our bodies, if consumed in regulated amounts. While it does not stand untrue for people with healthy hearts, for heart patients, any form of alcohol is dangerous. Alcohol further slows down the heart rate making our body more prone to some kind of heart problem. Thus, one should objectively avoid drinking any intoxicant that slows the heart rate down.
4. White bread
White bread is made of highly processed grains which make almost zero nutritive addition to our bodies. Heart failures or congestions are mostly accompanied by other harmful diseases like Type 2 diabetes, cholesterol, etc. The roughage that comes from non-processed grains helps clean the blockages in arteries and veins, making it easier for our heart to function. Thus, one should avoid white bread or any other processed grain while on a heart issue related diet.
5. Water
While every other article will state the numerous benefits that drinking lots of water brings, here we tell you that drinking too much water can cause retention and may, eventually, prove to be detrimental to health for a heart patient. Excessive consumption of any beverage leads to pressure on the heart to process it, increasing the workload on the heart. However, you should consult your doctor for the same as different bodies need different amounts of hydration to stay fit.
Thus, we see that letting go of these very simple indulgences can make the life of a heart patient better. It could go a long way in developing a healthy and happy, risk free life for them.