When prioritizing your heart health, making meal plans and nutrition goals for yourself is vital. While taking note of what you enjoy eating that can benefit your heart, it’s important to also steer clear of what doesn’t, and we checked in with heart health experts to learn more about which frozen foods to skip. Read on for tips and suggestions from cardiologist and holistic heart doctor Dr. Nitin Bhatnagar, M.D., and Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, senior cardiac dietitian.
Tip #1— Skip Frozen 'Loaded' Foods and Sides
Whether you're reaching for French fries or other frozen snacks, Bhatnagar stresses avoiding anything labeled as 'loaded.' This term he explains, "usually implies bacon and cheese mixed with an item that is already deep fried."
"When the mind is out of sync, the heart also is subject to stress," he continues. "Now, to add that picking a fried item is unhealthy to the body, mind and heart, and, add to that a dollop of loaded onion rings simply compounds the ill effects to the heart through the excess fat, excess salt, excess fried nature of the food." This, he says, can "further clog the arteries which can lead to heart attacks and strokes."
Tip #2— Avoid Anything Deep-Fried
Terrible frozen sides or frozen foods for your heart, Hunnes says, would include anything deep-fat fried, especially fried in trans-fats. This, she says, could include things like "french fries, bloomin' onions, tater tots, fried tortillas, churros, etc." The first reason these are "so bad," she adds, is because "they are high in simple carbohydrates that increase triglyceride levels, which is dangerous for the heart."
The second is due to them being deep-fat fried, "often in trans fats, which are known to be inflammatory and increase LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lower HDL (healthier) cholesterol levels. " Also, she notes that these foods are "inflammatory and increase the insulin response which can wreck havoc on the cardiovascular system" since a lot of cardiovascular disease is influenced by inflammation.
