Eating for Health
A healthy lifestyle is the foundation of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) prevention, and healthy dietary patterns combined with healthy lifestyle choices can help reduce your risk.
Learn how to eat healthier to manage your risk of heart disease and stroke. Discover the truth about fat, salt, reading food labels, and planning balanced meals.
Please click here to watch recording of the WRHA Eating for Health Class.
- Click here to learn more about healthy eating for high cholesterol.
Studies show getting nutrients from a combination of certain foods referred to as a dietary pattern can have great influence on cardiovascular health.
Examples of dietary patterns for the management of dyslipidemia and prevention of CVD are:
Mediterranean Dietary Pattern
Emphasis is everyday eating of minimally processed foods from plant sources including whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, herbs, spices, nuts and healthy fats such as those found in olive oil, avocado. It includes low to moderate amounts of lower-fat dairy products, chicken, fish and seafood at least twice per week. minimally processed foods from plant sources.
Click here to learn more about the Mediterranean Diet
Click here and here to learn more about incorporating Mediterranean eating patterns into your lifestyle!
DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Dietary Pattern
An eating pattern rich in vegetables, fruits and lower-fat dairy products. Emphasis is on dietary and soluble fibre, whole grains and protein from plant sources.
- Click here, here and here to learn more about incorporating DASH eating patterns into your lifestyle!
Plant-Based Dietary Pattern
An eating pattern emphasizing high intake of plant-based whole foods such as vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, plant-based oils and a reduction in animal products, highly refined grains, and added sugars. Click here to learn more.
Portfolio Dietary Pattern
An eating pattern based on a vegetarian style of eating. Emphasis is on a “combination” of foods proven effective in lowering cholesterol: soy protein, almonds, plant sterols, oats and barley.
- Click here to learn more about incorporating Portfolio eating patterns into your lifestyle!
Key Nutrition & Lifestyle Tips
- Plan ahead for meals. Make a meal plan for the week and use a grocery shopping list when shopping. Cook meals at home using minimally processed foods that are closest to their natural state. Pack a lunch and snacks for work and activities.
- Enjoy more plants on your plate to increase fibre intake. Fill ½ your plate with vegetables (fresh/frozen. Cooked or raw). Select whole grains such as high fiber breads, rolled oats, barley, wild/ brown rice, quinoa, whole grain or bean pastas. Enrich your diet with soluble fibre sources such as adding crushed flax, psyllium, or chia into your food.
Click here to learn more about soluble fibre and here to learn tips to increase dietary fibre in your diet.
- Select lean meats and plant-based proteins. Choose chicken breast, fish & seafood, wild meat, pork tenderloin, tofu, pulses, nuts, and seeds. Enjoy experimenting with different varieties of beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Try to substitute some or all the meat in recipes with nutrient dense plant proteins. Healthy nuts and seeds include unsalted almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, peanuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, flax, and chia. Select low fat dairy or dairy alternatives.
- Learn techniques for cooking with plant-based proteins:
Click here to learn more about increasing your plant protein intake in place of meat and gather recipe ideas. It may be easiest to buy canned black beans, chickpeas and use them in your salads and soups. Make sure to rinse them first. Click here for recipes using lentils and here for recipes using tofu.
Your Plate Layout Examples:
- Replace butter & coconut oil with heart healthy fats. Olive oil is the principal fat in the Mediterranean diet, but there are many healthy fats and oils available such as canola oil, walnut oil, avocado oil, and flax oil. Other healthy fat sources include avocados, nuts, and fish.
- Add flavor to your cooking. Choose with fresh/ dried frozen herbs & spices instead of using salt.
- Click here to learn tips on how to spice up your meals without salt!
- Save sweets/baked goods for special occasions. Enjoy fresh or frozen fruit for dessert instead.
- Make water your drink of choice. Tea and coffee can also be good choices. Add slices of lime, lemon, cucumber, ginger or herbs such as mint to add flavour to your water. Limit/avoid sweetened beverages, juices or adding creams, sugars, or honey to your hot beverages. Click here for more ideas!
- Limit alcohol. Limit alcohol to 2 drinks or less per week or avoid. One drink is 5 oz wine, 1 beer (12 oz) or 1.5 oz hard liquor. Click here for further information on Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health. **If you have triglyceride levels greater than 4.5 mmol/L, avoid alcohol.
- Look for ways to be active every day. Dance, walk, cycle. Aim to exercise 30 – 60 minutes daily of moderate to vigorous intensity.
Nutritious Menu Planning
- Dietitians of Canada has websites “Cookspiration” and “UnlockFood” with meal planning and recipes. These provide a pretty good starting point for menu planning, and you can check off boxes that interest you to generate recipe ideas. Click here for the Cookspiration website and here for the Unlockfood website.
- Heart & Stroke Meal Planning Toolkit can be found here.
Click here for more tips to help you cook with less fat, more vegetables and fruit, less sodium, more whole grains and more fibre. The recipe ideas are delicious and easy to make too!
Connect with a Registered Dietitian
A Registered Dietitian will help translate medical and nutrition information into practical healthy eating plans for you and your family, provide individualized nutrition advice to help you make healthy choices, help with nutrition concerns such as food sensitivities and allergies, and create nutrition care plans for specific medical conditions.
For an appointment with a Registered Dietitian:
- If you have private health insurance, click here for a listing of dietitians in private practice you can contact directly to arrange an appointment.
- If you live in Winnipeg and do not have private health insurance, click here and complete this self-referral to be connected to a community dietitian in your area.
Dial-a-Dietitian is here to answer questions and provide easy-to-use advice on food and nutrition to assist Manitobans and their families to eat well, live well and stay healthy. Callers will be connected to a registered dietitian, who will help guide callers to make the best decisions based on their needs.
