Your heart is a highly sophisticated machine, and the code … er, nutrients … you feed into it can influence how well it works.
In the tech world, white hat hackers work to help keep information secure and black hat hackers work to create malware, steal information or bring down systems.
Like a line of computer code, the nutrients you put into your body can either support your health or bring it down. It isn’t about what you eat for an individual meal or snack. Keeping your heart strong is a result of your overall eating pattern and regular physical activity.
White hat
Put good stuff in, get good results! The key is focusing on nutrient-rich foods like
- whole grains such as
- 100 percent whole wheat bread
- whole wheat pasta
- brown rice
- popcorn made with little or no added salt or butter
- quinoa
- fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables without
- high-calorie sauces
- syrup or added sugars
- added salt
- unsalted nuts and legumes (beans) that are
- Better Choice options with less sodium or
- rinsed before being eaten or cooked
- low-fat dairy including
- fat free (skim)
- low-fat (1%) and
- skinless poultry and fish that is
- roasted
- grilled
- poached
- baked or
- broiled.
Black hat
Over the long term, large amounts of foods like these can crash your system. Limit your intake of
- high-calorie, low-nutrient foods like
- cakes, pies or cookies
- ice cream
- candy
- potato chips
- sodas
- energy drinks
- sweetened tea and coffee
- red meat
- saturated fat such as
- butter
- lard
- full fat cheese
- ground chuck
- bacon
- sausage
- added sugars such as
- table sugar
- raw sugar
- corn syrup
- high fructose corn syrup
- molasses
- honey
- alcohol
- high-sodium processed and restaurant foods and
- excess salt.
So what kind of heart hacker are you? White or black hat? Choose wisely for your heart’s sake.
Track your hack
Publix Pharmacy has a free resource to help you and your doctor monitor your heart health. The higi machine checks your blood pressure and body mass index (BMI).
