Recent medical innovations have forged the way for better heart health for most of us. The trends of the society and the lifestyle changes have taken a huge impact on the heart health for most of us, and this may be an excellent time to turn a new leaf in our lives by taking our heart health seriously. No matter your age, heart health is something everyone needs to pay attention to.

India has some of the best heart hospitals, and one can find the best cardiology hospital in Bangalore. These hospitals and their world-class doctors do help us in getting our heart health in check by offering advice and treatments, but as they say, prevention is better than cure.

white rice

Below are a few ingredients and common kitchen staples that you need to look out for as they are slowly deteriorating your heart health:

Avoiding the 3 S’s

This is a mantra formulated by a dietician in the US. The three harmful S in our day-to-day life are Salt, Spice and Sugar. These three, when taken in moderation or it’s even better if taken less than required, do mostly good for the body. But when it comes to excessive intake of any or all the three, it can create a harmful imbalance in the body.

It is best advised to reduce the amount of salt that is taken to improve blood pressure as it directly impacts the heart’s health. Salty foods such as salty fried snacks and chips and other such junk food that is tossed in salt can be very harmful to your heart.

Sugar, especially white sugar which is refined and processed is a slow poison for the body. Sugar does absolutely no good for the human body when consumed in a refined form. There are many natural substitutes for sugar that are extremely healthy, such as jaggery, brown sugar, palm jaggery, etc., and convert easily to glucose in our body, unlike white sugar which only stimulates the insulin level and spikes the blood sugar level.

Quitting white sugar has amazing benefits not only to the heart but also for the skin, hair and overall general health. You can even opt for low-call substitutes or slowly tune to a sugar-free lifestyle.

Spice is another trigger for bad heart health. Spice is essential and even helpful when consumed in the natural form such as whole spices – cardamoms, cloves, cinnamons, bay leaf, star anise and pepper. These whole spices are naturally occurring and therefore are great for the body and help improving immunity and help with colds and congestion.

But artificial spices such as chilly powders, MSG-laden ‘Chat’ powders and sprinkles that are artificially processed as taste enhancers are full of chemicals and preservatives. These kinds of spices cause heartburn and may even result in cancer over a period of time. MSG is a proven chemical that is extremely bad for the body, and these spices must be avoided in fast foods found in hotels and restaurants.

White Rice and White flour

heart health

Apart from the three harmful S’s, the other two major cholesterol triggers are found in refined and polished forms of rice and wheat, which happen to be the main staple ingredients in almost all countries of the world. Most countries have a staple diet of refined flour such as bread, bagels, baguettes, waffles, tortillas, pasta, noodles, almost anything you imagine as the basis of your food is made from refined flour.

Even our delicacies such as doughnuts, cakes, pastries, cookies and all confectioneries are made from refined flour. In the other part of the world, polished white rice is the staple. These polished rice are washed and polished to look clean, attractive and taste better but have no nutritious value.

Both of these just add to the amount of cholesterol in the body as they are digested slowly and are stored as fat if not burned off properly, which is the case for most of us, thanks to our sedentary lifestyle. These two white ingredients that are so intertwined with our daily food are killing our heart health, one day at a time.

These are some of the common kitchen items you can avoid to keep up good heart health. Choose from one of the best cardiology hospitals in Bangalore and always visit your doctor for a regular check-up. This helps in keeping track of your heart’s health and making sure you are one step ahead.

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