It’s difficult to plan healthy meals when what is recommended as “healthy” seems to change from one month to the next. We were told that saturated fats from butter, fried food and red meat, among other items, was detrimental to our health, but then research indicated there wasn’t enough proof that people who gave up these items enhanced their heart health – and thus, we were given the OK to select butter over margarine once again.
Nevertheless, as noted in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers explain that the lack of good results when saturated fats were reduced is more likely due to the equally terrible dietary selections made in place of those fats – like refined carbs. People who had replaced the saturated fats with more nutritional options, like whole grains and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil, did lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 25%.
According to one of the researchers in this study, Adela Hruby, “We know that people don’t just drop 10% of their calories…and not replace them with other things. What they are adding in to replace what they’re not eating is really important.”
The study, led by Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was extremely thorough, tracking about 130,000 male and female participants over 30 years. The study tracked dietary choices and heart-related conditions, it was noted that subjects who substituted carbohydrates for saturated fats were realizing a virtually equal risk of heart disease – something that was missed in other studies that determined it was not significantly beneficial to cut back on saturated fats.
So what can we learn from all of this? We may be better off by not only reducing saturated fat, but by choosing healthy replacements over processed flour-based products and those with a high sugar content.
Home Sweet Home In-Home Care, the top rated home care company in St. Joseph, MI, is also available to plan and prepare nutritious, delicious meals that take into account senior heart health and help older adults reduce their risk for heart attacks and heart disease. We can also help make sure that seniors are:
- Making good dietary choices, and can help with obtaining groceries so that healthy, fresh foods are always stocked.
- Taking medications as prescribed
- Participating in doctor-approved exercise programs
- Safely brought and accompanied to appointments and other outings
- And much more
Give us a call at 269-849-9252 to learn more.