Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), including strokes is now the fourth leading cause of death in South Africa, according to Statistics SA. You can reduce and manage your risk of CVD by adjusting your diet, weight, exercise routine and smoking habits.
One aspect you can look at is the type of fats you eat. You need to replace the saturated and trans fatty acids “bad fats” with the “good fats” that help lower your risks of CVD. These are the monounsaturated such as olive oil, avocado, almonds, pecan and hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, and polyunsaturated fats such as walnuts, flaxseeds, fish and canola oil.
One way to do this is both easy and tasty, you can start adding avocado to your daily diet if possible. We need to learn to substitute the “bad fats” for better ones. A great example is replacing butter on your toast with smashed avocado.
Avocados are high in monounsaturated fats, contain fiber and are also high in phytonutrients which are chemicals found in plants that help prevent and repair damage to the cells in our bodies and have been linked to improving overall cardiovascular health.
In a study published in the Journal for the American heart Association, some interesting facts were found:
Those who ate avocado more regularly generally had a more balanced diet and their diets contained more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and yoghurt. All these foods are healthy food choices and it showed that these people were generally making healthier choices and were more aware of healthy eating.
The study also found that if you eat more than two servings of avocado per week (1 serving = ¼ avocado), you can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by 16%.
Some other ways of replacing the “bad fats” in your diet (saturated fats) with “good fats” (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) are:
· Eat avocado instead of margarine on your bread - you can lower your risk of heart disease by 16%.
· Eat avocado instead of mayonnaise in your diet - you can lower your risk of heart disease by 8%.
· Eat avocado instead of butter - you can lower your risk of heart disease by 22%.
· Eat avocado instead of cheese - you can lower your risk of heart disease by 13%.
Try to start including at least 2 servings of avocado per week and you can lower your risk of heart disease and have a delicious replacement for margarine, butter and mayonnaise.
Healthy eating can be fun and taste good!
Helping you towards to a healthy and dynamic life
Janet
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