As you all know, choosing the right kind of food always benefits your health, especially your heart.
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But you might be surprised to know that the time you have your healthy food also matters. It significantly impacts your heart health. Hence apart from choosing a heart-healthy diet, it is also equally important to time your food to obtain the most of it. Here we would like to throw some light on when to have what kind of food to boost your heart health. We hope this would bring some good changes to your heart-healthy dietary habits.
1. Avoid Calorie-Dense Foods in the Evening
Probably most of us have heard this already but still end up having a whole grain burger or pasta with smoothie towards the end of the day as a movie night food or as a reward to our souls for coping with the day’s stress. If this has been the scenario, please wake up. This is the right time for you to stop having such calorie-dense foods in the evening or at night. It is fine if you have them during the day, but not in the latter part of the day. It is because your digestion does its work best in the first part of the day rather than at night.
2. Fruits After Breakfast
After your breakfast, try incorporating fruits like berries, pears, and dry fruits with no added sugar. This is a healthy post-breakfast snack alternative. Based on the results of research conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), it was found that people who had a fruit snack after breakfast had a reduced risk of heart diseases and death.
3. Shift to a Fruit-Based Lunch
Whether you are having meat burgers, white rice, flatbreads, or whatnot for your lunch, after reading this, try shifting to a fruit-based lunch and follow it consistently. Your fruit lunch can include nuts, yogurt, and whole grains apart from fruits. You will notice the difference. People following a fruit-based lunch were found to have greatly reduced the risk of death due to heart diseases.
4. Adapt to a Plant-Based Dinner
Plant-based dinner fills your tummy satisfactorily without increasing your calories for the day. Add more colors to your plate. Stir-fried veggies, legumes, tempeh, veggie salads, stew, or soups are some options. Any time of the year, veggies remain one of the healthiest choices.
5. Choose Your Snack Wisely
Consuming starchy snacks like French fries or potato chips are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Your heart will thank you if you keep your bag of chips aside and opt for dairy-based snack options, especially in the evening. You can also have nuts, seeds, and fruits as your all-time snack option.
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