What is Heart Healthy? - Let’s Talk About Cholesterol, Fats, and My “Heart-Healthy” Recipes (Spoiler: They Aren’t Diet Food)
If you’re at all familiar with twimii, you’ll know I love when I can tag a recipe Heart-Healthy. But what does it mean? Whenever I label a recipe heart-healthy, it means it contains a generous portion of heart-healthy unsaturated fats (like olive oil, avocados, nuts, or seeds) and/or a lot of dietary fibre. The idea is, as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, these meals can help improve your blood cholesterol levels, and lower your levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
In my 20s I found out I had high cholesterol. I wanted to lower it through diet and exercise, so I looked up stuff online. A study I found said it is more important to eat much more healthy (unsaturated) fats compared to how much saturated fats (or trans fats) you eat — than it is to reduce the amount of fat in your diet. I liked that finding and began focusing on increasing my consumption of unsaturated fats, as well as exercising more, and successfully lowered my own blood cholesterol levels.
And every time I’ve been told since that I have high cholesterol, I’ve done the same thing, and it’s worked every time. What do you mean, I’m supposed to do this consistently?
So I love when I come up with a new recipe that is “heart-healthy”. But there is something important I’ve got to make clear; just because they are good for your heart doesn’t mean they will slim down your waistline.
Why Heart-Healthy Doesn’t Mean “Diet” Food
My heart-healthy recipes are not designed for weight loss, nor are they suitable for a bulk-up. Some may be low-calorie or contain a good amount of protein but that was never the focus in coming up with these recipes. All that matters, to me, is that the dish has a decent amount of unsaturated fats and/or a good serving of dietary fibre.
Unsaturated fats, like extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish, are full of goodness and essential for your long-term health, but, just like saturated fats (which aren’t all bad) or trans fats (which are generally bad and I avoid them—when I’m being healthy), they are also densely packed with calories. Gram for gram, fats provide more than double the calories of proteins and carbohydrates. Because my primary focus when creating these recipes was being “Heart-Healthy” rather than calorie counting, many of these dishes are relatively high in calories.
So, if your goal is strict calorie restriction or weight-loss, please don’t view the “Heart-Healthy” tag as meaning these recipes are necessarily weight-loss friendly. They are nourishing and tasty, but many of them are not low-calorie “diet” foods.
If you aren’t concerned with weight-loss, will these types of recipes help lower your cholesterol? All I can tell you is they work for me. — But don’t follow my example, be consistent with your heart-healthy eating, if you can.
Why Have I Not Added Calorie Information on my Recipes?
I did seriously consider doing this. I was using some Google thing on the last version of twimii. And it strongly recommended that I add the calorie count to my recipes or it may affect their visibility in search results. While this is just a hobby site, I do like to think of people sometimes trying the recipes. So I really did think I might add this information but in the end I decided not to. I personally should probably focus a little more on weight-loss. But I’m slightly concerned by what I see as a growing obsession with skinniness. I don’t think it’s healthy. And I’m not sure that looking at calories is what you should do when deciding what to cook.
I may change my mind on this. But for now, I won’t be putting a calorie count on any of the recipes. I hope that doesn’t disappoint anyone. Also, I think there is a reasonably strong likelihood of my getting the figures wrong.
Current Advice on Cholesterol and Fats — According to Google
It is the opinion of leading health authorities, like the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Mayo Clinic, that optimising your blood lipid profile comes down to a few key strategies:
Swap Saturated Fats for Unsaturated Fats:
The AHA’s dietary guidelines emphasize replacing saturated fats (found heavily in red meat, butter, lard, and full-fat dairy) and tropical oils with liquid plant oils (like olive, rapeseed, and sunflower oil) and foods rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (such as avocados, nuts, and seeds). Doing this directly helps lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. You can read more about these recommendations directly through the American Heart Association's Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations.
Up Your Soluble Fibre Intake:
Soluble fibre acts like a sponge in your digestive tract, helping to block some cholesterol from being absorbed into your bloodstream. Excellent sources include oats, lentils, beans, Brussels sprouts, apples, and pears. For a deeper dive into fibre and cardiovascular health, check out the AHA's comprehensive scientific statements on dietary guidance.
Manage Triglycerides and LDL with Whole Foods:
Triglycerides are heavily influenced by excess calories, refined carbohydrates, added sugars, and alcohol. Cutting back on ultra-processed foods and sugary beverages while increasing whole grains, vegetables, and lean proteins (like fish) is crucial for keeping triglycerides in check. The Mayo Clinic’s guide on lifestyle changes to improve cholesterol offers a fantastic, practical breakdown of these steps.
Incorporate Regular Physical Activity:
Diet is only one piece of the puzzle. Engaging in regular aerobic exercise (like brisk walking, cycling, or swimming) helps raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol and supports healthy weight management.
Quit Smoking:
Google didn’t actually include this one, but the health benefits of quiting smoking are undeniable. Did you know that two out of every three smokers will die from a smoking related illness? I quit smoking in my 20s. It’s not easy. But it gets much harder to quit things as you get older. Quiting also helps your cardiovascular health which is why it is usually including in tips for lowering your cholesterol - which is all about preventing heart disease.
Disclaimer: Just to be clear to be clear; I am an occasional food blogger, not a medical professional, registered dietitian, or nutritionist. The information shared here is based on my own personal experience, what I’ve read some 20 years ago in one half-remembered scientific study, and general health guidelines that I found online for this post. Always consult with your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional before making major changes to your diet, especially if you are managing a medical condition. And listen, do not take medical or nutritional advice from strangers on the internet. Especially strangers who claim their recipes are made by a fluffy cow. I mean, do you even need this disclaimer really?
