Health Day Resources

Here you will find everything I talk about at health days


Nutrition Tips for Heart Health

Many people stop past my stand after their health assessment during their company’s wellness day and tell me that the nurse told them their cholesterol levels are climbing and their blood pressure is on the rise.

The first time your numbers are out of range is a wakeup call. It is the siren informing you that something in your body is not quite right and it’s time to make some changes. It can feel a bit overwhelming, but the situation is not a bad as it may seem.

You see, high cholesterol and blood pressure, along with raised blood sugar levels and carrying a few extra kilos, are chronic conditions of lifestyle. That means, although you may be genetically predisposed, the main cause is what you eat and drink, your exercise routine, your sleep habits, and how well you manage stress. Yes! It is all your lifestyle factors that need to be examined.

As a dietitian, I can give you general advice for most of the things related to heart disease, but my expertise lies in diet and nutrition. So, if you have just found out that you have high cholesterol or hypertension, or you’ve been dealing with it for a while, read on to learn how changing your diet can put you back on the path to health.

High Blood Pressure


It’s not surprising that I see so many people with high blood pressure at corporate health days. After all, according to the
Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa, more than 1 in 3 people are living with hypertension (high blood pressure) in this country.

What does it mean when your healthcare provider tells you your blood pressure is high? First of all, “blood pressure” refers to the force exerted on your blood vessel walls as it flows through them. When your heart contracts, it forces the blood through the vessels, giving you the higher number. And when it rests between beats, you get the lower number. That is why your blood pressure reading is 120 over 80, for example.

Blood Pressure Chart

As your blood pressure increases, so does your risk of heart disease. In South Africa, high blood pressure is the cause of 1 in every 2 strokes, and 2 of every 5 heart attacks. These are frightening statistics!

When your doctor diagnoses hypertension, she will probably prescribe medication to bring it down, and you will be advised to make some critical lifestyle adjustments. Exercise, sleep, and stress management, combined with a healthy diet are key for achieving a normal blood pressure.

Diet for Hypertension


The foundation of a heart-healthy diet is beautifully illustrated in the
yellow plate I take with me to all my health days. It’s the one that tells you to load your plate with veggies! Remember it? Half a plate of vegetables, a quarter plate of starch, and a quarter plate of meat, fish, or chicken.

To build on those foundations, there are some essential nutrients that are involved in controlling your blood pressure. They include:
  • Reduce salt
    Salt: There is a strong link between high salt (sodium chloride) intake and high blood pressure. Therefore, it is critical to reduce your salt consumption to no more than 1 teaspoon of salt or 2300mg of sodium per day. Remember: salt is not only table salt. Your total for the day comes from stock cubes, soup powder, salty snacks such as chips, roasted nuts, biltong, crackers, cheese, tinned food, fast food, pre-prepared meals, bread, and breakfast cereals.
  • Calcium: Found in dairy products, fish with bones like pilchards, sardines, and tinned salmon, dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and kale, and nuts like almonds, calcium is an essential mineral for healthy blood pressure. It ensures that your blood vessels constrict and relax when needed.
  • Potassium: This mineral is essential for proper muscle contractions. It also helps your blood vessels relax, which lowers blood pressure. Eat plenty of potassium-rich foods like fruit, vegetables, potatoes, whole grain carbohydrates, avos, and legumes like beans, lentils, and chickpeas.
  • Magnesium: Involved in over 300 processes in the body, magnesium also helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. Magnesium-rich foods include nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grain carbohydrates, dairy products, and dark green leafy vegetables.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH diet, brings all these guidelines together.

High Cholesterol


Another important number related to heart health is your
cholesterol level. When this fatty substance is deposited in the arteries creating plaques, they become narrower and stiffer, making it more difficult for your blood to pass through them freely. If a clot forms and can’t pass through the vessels in your heart or brain, it may cause a heart attack or stroke.
Ideally your cholesterol readings should be as follows:
  • Total cholesterol: less than 5 mmol/l
  • LDL (bad) cholesterol: 2-3.4 mmol/l
  • HDL (good) cholesterol: 0.9-1.6 mmol/l
  • Triglycerides: Less than 2 mmol/l
Of course, there is medication you can take to lower your cholesterol levels, but diet and other lifestyle factors are the cornerstone of cholesterol management.

Diet for High Cholesterol


As mentioned before when we were talking about a healthy diet for high blood pressure, the
food portion plate is a great starting point for making dietary changes to support heart health. Getting the balance right makes it easier to focus on the key nutrients that either raise or lower cholesterol levels. They include:
  • Fatty meat - saturated fat
    Saturated fat: Most of the cholesterol in your body is made from the saturated fat you eat. Therefore, eating less of these hard fats helps to keep your cholesterol levels in check. They are solid at room temperature and found in the fat on meat, skin on chicken, full cream milk, cream, butter, cheese, and coconut oil.
  • Unsaturated fat: These liquid fats or oils, especially those high in omega-3 fatty acids help to keep your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels down and your good (HDL) cholesterol levels up. Include some dark oily fish like salmon, sardines, and pilchards, nuts, seeds, olives, avos, and olive, avo, or canola oil in your diet.
  • Soluble fibre: Softer, water-soluble fibre is found in oats, oat bran, legumes like dried beans, lentils, and chickpeas, fruit, vegetables, and finely-ground wheat products like bran flakes. It binds to cholesterol in the gut and prevents its absorption, thus helping to keep your cholesterol levels down.

Eating for Heart Health


It might have been an unpleasant surprise hearing that you have high cholesterol or blood pressure—especially at work. But don’t ignore it. Rather, be thankful that you know about it before it becomes a problem that lands you in hospital.
Follow up with your doctor and make an appointment with a dietitian who can give you personalized advice on how to change your diet and improve your heart health. Knowing your numbers is the first step in overcoming potential health issues, which is why health assessments are done at almost all corporate wellness days.
Making big dietary changes can be overwhelming. Small adjustments over time eventually add up and become significant improvements. Your health truly begins at the tip of your fork.