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Heartline Magazine July - September 2004
Heart Smart - Healthy Tips on Eating Out
For many people, dining out is a favorite way to relax and socialize with
friends. But it's more difficult to tell how food is prepared, and selecting the
right foods presents special challenges for people with heart failure. With some
planning and initiative, though, eating out can be both healthy and enjoyable.
When people with heart failure are planning an evening out at a restaurant, they
should keep these suggestions in mind.
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Plan ahead. Try to select a restaurant where food is cooked to order, rather
than a fast-food or buffet-style chain, where the food is made ahead of
time. Many restaurants will honor requests for low-salt, low-saturated-fat
versions of certain dishes.
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Get to know the owner and servers. This will make it easier to ask
questions.
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Watch out for before-the-meal "extras" like cocktails, appetizers, and bread
and butter. These are often a source of extra fat and sodium.
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Read the menu carefully. Look for foods described with the words baked,
broiled, garden fresh, grilled, in its own juice, poached, roasted or
steamed. This usually indicates a healthier dish.
In general, try to steer clear of dishes described with these terms like
basted, buttered, casserole, creamed, fried, in cream sauce, in gravy, prime,
sautéed and rich. This usually indicates less-healthy preparation):
Ask for more details about how food is prepared and cooked. For example, a
food that looks acceptable because it's baked or grilled might include a
high-fat sauce or salty seasoning. It's OK to ask the waiter or waitress for
help.
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Choose healthy ethnic foods. People with heart failure don't have to cut out
world cuisines, such as Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern,
Italian, French, Greek or Mexican. Just try to choose dishes that are lower
in sodium and fat (particularly saturated fat). Ask the server for help.
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Ask for salad dressings, sauces and gravies to be served on the side. That
makes it easier to control how much is added to the food.
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Ask about healthy substitutions. For example, if a dish comes with french
fries or onion rings, ask for a baked potato or unsalted vegetables instead.
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Choose desserts carefully. Fresh fruit, fruit ice, sherbet, gelatin and
angel food cake are good alternatives to fat- and cream-laden desserts. Use
milk in coffee instead of cream or half-and-half.
Eating a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet can help reduce your risks
for a heart attack. Eating saturated fats and cholesterol raises the level of
cholesterol in your blood, which speeds the development of atherosclerosis — the
build up of fatty deposits in the inner walls of arteries. If your arteries are
narrowed by fatty deposits, they may become blocked by a blood clot, which
results in a heart attack.
Your diet is one health habit you can control.
A healthy heart needs a heart-smart diet. You can have fun while eating
delicious meals low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
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