Diet And Heart Health: Making Good Choices Can Be Confusing

When it comes to diet and nutrition, there are countless gurus and influencers claiming they have the best advice, but the truth is, depending on your overall health, some diets are just downright dangerous. If you have any heart or vascular conditions, you need to caution this type of advice and speak to your cardiologist about what’s best for you.

For example, many people are jumping on the ketogenic bandwagon, and while it’s beneficial for some individuals, it can wreak havoc on the endothelial and arterial walls if done improperly. Saturated fats, processed meats, and dairy might sound delicious, but they can be detrimental to heart health and cause excessive plaque to form in the arteries throughout the body. If you want to limit simple carbs like bread, pasta, chips, and cookies, that’s a fantastic idea and can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

There is no one magic diet, but avoiding added sugars, white flour, packaged foods, and snacks is a great way to feel better, increase energy and reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and many other conditions. However, it’s not just about what we avoid that’s important, but it’s also critical to eat a healthy diet the majority of the time.

If you can, increasing your intake of fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits is a great way to increase fiber, phytonutrients, and numerous vitamins in your diet. This will feed your cells and can even help to reduce some of the damage that may have taken place over the years. It’s also wise to add in lean proteins. These can be plant-based or animal products, or a combination of both. Things like finfish, shellfish, nuts, seeds, and legumes are an excellent choice to feed and nourish your body.

It’s also important not to go FAT-FREE. Yes, you may think all cardiologists favor fat-free diets, but those old ways of thinking are outdated. It’s important to avoid most saturated fats, but eating healthy fats is vital for the body to function properly. Foods like olives, avocados, walnuts, and extra virgin olive oil are full of essential nutrients and fatty acids that we need to thrive optimally.  

There have been several recent studies on the effects of the Mediterranean diet and heart disease. Although the results vary somewhat, in the end, after following patients for several years, those on a Mediterranean style diet, which is rich in plants and fish, and limits sugar, meats, and packaged foods have a significantly less incidence of heart disease. The Mediterranean and similar diets also show that it has the most impact on those with high blood pressure, high lipid counts (cholesterol, triglycerides), diabetes, and obesity.

At Cardiac Care Group, they take your symptoms seriously and are prepared to see you and to discuss your conditions. They specialize in providing a wide range of services that focus on the prevention, prompt diagnosis, and state-of-the-art treatment of cardiovascular disease. 

Joseph Freedman, M.D.

Dr. Freedman brings many years of experience as a cutting edge cardiologist specializing in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of all cardiac disease. He trained at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic, continually ranked #1 in Cardiovascular Care, where he focused on cardiac imaging. He achieved five board certifications in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Comprehensive Adult ECHO, Nuclear Cardiology, and Cardiac CT. During his tenure as the lead noninvasive cardiologist at Florida Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, he helped lead the hospital to achieve Level 5 chest pain certification, the highest designation of cardiac excellence. 

He has spoken on national health care radio programs and has appeared on local news, highlighting the latest in cardiovascular care. Dr. Freedman prides himself on being an advocate for the patient. Every patient is unique, and he works carefully with leading local and national experts to make sure patients receive the best specialty procedural care possible for that specific case. Dr. Freedman has done research in cardiac MRI studies of the heart, in nuclear scanning, and has participated in the research trials of several leading cholesterol-lowering drugs. Dr. Freedman also has extensive experience in pulmonary hypertension and ran a large clinic in Broward County for these specific and often undiagnosed patients. Dr. Freedman speaks Spanish as well.

Please call to schedule your appointment today. 

Cardiac Care Group

3208 Chiquita Blvd S 

Suite 110 

Cape Coral, FL 33914

(239) 574-8463