When you have high cholesterol, you need to immediately adjust your diet and maybe take cholesterol-lowering drugs regularly. One of the recommended foods to avoid is meat and other fatty foods. But, is there a way for people with high cholesterol to eat meat? How to process meat for a healthy heart?
Is eating meat safe for the heart?
Many people think that eating meat is not good for health, especially for people with heart disease and high cholesterol.
Is this assumption correct? Experts say that it's okay to eat meat, but with a few notes, for example eating low-fat meat to get protein.
Meat that contains a lot of saturated fat can cause levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol to increase. In addition, the choice of the type of meat you choose will also affect overall heart health.
- About 10-30% of daily calories should come from protein. Here are the measurements you can use:
- Women aged 19 to 70 years and over need 46 grams of protein per day.
Meanwhile, men aged 19 to 70 years and over need more protein than women, which is about 56 grams per day.
Apart from meat, protein can be obtained from milk and from nuts. You can combine them in your daily diet. By monitoring the level of protein from meat that enters the body, you are already doing one of the best efforts to make your heart healthy.
Tips for processing meat that is healthy for the heart
If you still want to enjoy meat without worrying about it, you can do this by processing the meat properly. Below are some tips that you can follow.
1. Choose the right type of meat
When you want to process meat, choose the right type of meat cut, such as lean cuts with the least fat content.
In addition, make sure you also limit the consumption of red meat. According to the journal Circulation, eating too much red meat can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
Fish, such as salmon and tuna, can be the best alternative. These types of meat are richer in omega-3 fatty acids than red meat.
2. Avoid cooking with excess oil and salt
In order to reduce the risk for heart disease, you should cook meat by boiling, grilling, or grilling it.
Make sure you don't use too much oil. If you must use oil, use healthy oils that are safe for cholesterol, such as olive oil.
Also, try not to add too much salt to your meat preparations. Consumption of excess salt can trigger an increase in blood pressure.
3. Increase the portion of vegetables
To ensure that the meat you eat is healthier for your heart, add more vegetables to your diet.
It would be even better if you don't use meat as a main dish, but only as a side dish. For example, put a small slice of meat into your salad bowl.
What meats are good for heart health?
After understanding the right meat processing tips, now is the time for you to know what types of meat are safe for the heart.
1. Beef
If you can't resist eating beef, choose beef that has the lowest fat.
Which part is low in fat? You can get rid of the fat on the beef or choose to buy just a few cuts, such as choosing sirloin or tenderloin cuts.
Likewise, when choosing pork, you can rely on the same pieces as beef. While in sheep or goats, you can choose the legs.
As much as possible, pay attention to the edges of the ends of the meat to check whether there is fat or not. If you still see the fat, cut it off.
2. Chicken meat
Saturated fat contained in chicken meat is much lower than that found in red meat, such as beef, pork, and goat.
Researchers even show that chicken meat only has a risk of about 20 percent of cardiovascular disease compared to the risk posed by red meat.
So which parts are recommended? You can choose the chest, and the rarely found skin and bone. The chicken fingers or chicken tenders section is also recommended.
Almost the same as beef, find the fat that is still visible, then cut. The skin of the chicken is indeed the most delicious part, but as much as possible try not to eat the skin of the chicken.
3. Fish
According to the Cleveland Clinic, fish is included in the main ranks recommended for preventing cardiovascular disease. Eating fish (about three to six ounces) per week is highly recommended for adults.
Lean protein can be found in fresh tuna. You will also benefit from omega-3 fatty acids, which are antidote to various cardiovascular problems.
Tuna also contains vitamins B12, D, niacin and selenium. Niacin can help you lower cholesterol levels in the body. Usually niacin is used for treatment for people with cholesterol.
Not only tuna, salmon also has a high omega-3 content. Plus, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vitamins B6, B12, and D are also found in salmon.
Potassium itself functions for various organ problems, one of which is the heart. Potassium is believed to be able to overcome the problem of high blood pressure.
Six ounces of salmon has 34 grams of protein and only 18 grams of fat, of which saturated fat is only found in about 4 of 18 grams.