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Melanie Cole (Host):  Why is a balanced diet so important with respect to heart health? What are the diet and nutrition recommendations to reduce controllable risk factors of heart disease? My guest today is Lauren Christensen. She is a Registered Dietician and Licensed Medical Nutrition Therapist at Bryan Life Point. Welcome to the show, Lauren. Why is a balanced diet so important with respect to heart health?    

Lauren Christensen (Guest):   First of all, what people might not realize is that 80% of heart disease is preventable. Now, you might be thinking, “Okay. That’s good, right? We can control this. We can do something about preventing this.” It is also kind of scary because we are still seeing those numbers. What my part is, where I come into play and what I’m most passionate about as a registered dietician is the nutrition aspect. Certainly, my goal with my clients is to teach them that they can still enjoy foods that they love but also help them identify how to create balance throughout their diet. Adding in fruit, vegetables, things that are high in fiber, to get those nutrient dense foods but still not give up the taste profile.

Melanie:  That is so important to people. They want to make sure that they are enjoying their food and that it is not all just sticks and twigs. What are some of the dietary and nutrition recommendations to reduce those risk factors for heart disease – the controllable ones?  

Lauren:  Sure. There’s been a lot of buzz lately. Obviously, the 2015 dietary guidelines just came out and what they highlighted for us was some of what we have already been encouraging patients to do. But, there are also some new recommendations as well, too.  Again, trying to focus on a variety of fruits and vegetables, getting a nice blend of color throughout your day will help make sure that you are getting all of the nutrients that your body needs. Another thing that fruits and vegetables give us is that fiber. That helps us keep feeling fuller longer. Additionally, another thing that is high in fiber are grains, especially whole grains. I think these kind of get a bad rap sometimes. People think, “Well, carbohydrates. You need to cut those out.” But, that is actually something that our body needs. We need carbohydrates for energy. Opting for those whole grain items is really going to be your best bet. Because, again, it’s going to help keep you feeling fuller longer but it’s also going to provide you without a lot of beneficial nutrients that your body needs.

Melanie:  When we hear about fiber and whole grains – such great information – colors on the plate, what about portion control and moderation? Some diets, Weight Watchers and such, they really advocate portion control. What do you tell your clients about that?

Lauren:  I think portion control is something that we do need to focus on. Overall, our portions have ballooned over the past couple of decades. Unfortunately, we can see some of that result in our waistlines, too. What I really encourage my clients to focus on is being mindful of what they are eating. As far as cutting back on portions, simple tips like using a smaller plate that will still help you feel like you’re not being deprived of anything is a good idea. Also, cutting out distractions. When we eat with the TV on or the phone right next to us or while we’re checking emails, we’re not really focusing on the task at hand and chances are we are probably going to overdo it as far as portion sizes because we may not be realizing how much we’re taking in.

Melanie:  What a great tip and not to be distracted because people do mindlessly eat and so much of it is about this mindfulness in nutrition. What about salt intake and heart health and blood pressure? How can we minimize our salt intake without sacrificing the taste and palatability that people look for?

Lauren:  Absolutely. Sodium is a big thing when we talk about heart health. Again, in the new dietary recommendations they have changed this slightly. They still recommend that people consume less than 2300 milligrams of sodium per day. While that may be difficult for us to do, it will really reduce our risk for hypertension and high blood pressure and improve our cardiac profile. But, again, like you said, we don’t want to give up the taste profile. I think it is safe to assume that we all probably know somebody who reaches for the salt shaker prior to even tasting their food. That would be one of my first tips. Always taste your food first and you can add a little bit of salt or a little bit of other seasonings to really enhance that flavor profile. If you don’t taste it first, you don’t know how much is already on there. Again, another way to improve or enhance that flavor profile without even reaching for the salt shaker would to be try experimenting with different herbs and spices. Even adding fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice can really enhance that flavor of a dish.

Melanie:  That’s great advice. What strategies can be utilized to promote this weight loss? For New Year’s resolutions – people want to lose weight, Lauren. What do you tell them about losing weight besides eating healthy for their heart? What is your best advice about weight loss?  

Lauren:  Again, it comes back to being mindful. Trying to choose foods that are overall going to give your body the nutrients that it needs but without over doing it. I think one of the things that we see a lot of times is people reaching for refined sugars and things with added sugars that, again, don’t really provided us with a very good nutritional profile. These are what we call empty calories; things like soda and candy. Trying to decrease or eliminate those types of items would be a great way to minimize your calorie intake and also help promote weight loss or weight management. Overall, decreasing your calories through making those healthy choices at meals and at snacks. In addition to that, exercise is also very, very important. Aiming for 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week is going to really, again, help with the weight management. This doesn’t have to be scary. It doesn’t have to be work. It can be something that you enjoy doing but it has to be relevant to you and you have to be able to want that for yourself.

Melanie:  What do you think of journaling to help with accountability and keep track of what you are in-taking?

Lauren:   I think it can be a really effective tool but I also feel that sometimes people can get carried away with it. A lot of times what I tell my clients is to try this for a couple of weeks. I feel like once you start writing things down you are, again, more mindful of what you are putting in your body. I think that over time you will just gradually opt for those things and you won’t have to write down every move that you make during your day.

Melanie:  In just the last minute, Lauren, and it’s definitely such important information, give the listeners your best advice for a healthy plate and a happy heart and why they should come to Bryan Health for their care.

Lauren:   I think that taking care of our heart is important. We can definitely make steps and changes, even small changes, to really improve or reduce the risk for heart disease. Being mindful of our weight and taking steps to reduce our weight if we’re overweight or obese is one of the first areas that we need to look into. It doesn’t mean that we need to give up foods that taste great. We can still build a really healthy plate that is really flavorful but, again, focusing on those lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole grains is really going to be our best tool to help reduce that risk.   

Melanie:  Tell us about Bryan Life Point.  

Lauren:  Sure. Brian Life Point – we are located in Lincoln, Nebraska four blocks south of 27^th in Pine Lake. We offer a variety of services here. From my standpoint, I offer 60-minute or half-hour nutrition consultations. That can really be focused on any area that you are looking to work on. A lot of what I do, however, is deal with weight loss. We are a fitness facility, so many of my clients are searching for tips and tools to promote that weight loss.   

Melanie:  Thank you so much, Lauren, for being with us today.  You’re listening to Bryan Health Radio and for more information you can go to BryanHealth.com. That’s BryanHealth.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.