If you haven’t already, it’s time to start encouraging your residents to listen to their hearts. While American Heart Month is geared toward raising awareness about better care of your heart health, this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) emphasizes the importance of women’s heart health. Since almost half of American women don’t realize that it’s the leading cause of death for women and 44% of women have some form of heart disease, making lifestyle changes is always a good practice to implement.
However, everyone, especially those in long-term care, should focus on improving heart health. A 2020 study of residential care communities by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) confirms that many residents deal with heart disease. In smaller communities (<50 beds), 3 in 10 residents carried the diagnosis, but the percentages are higher in communities with more than 50 beds. High cholesterol and diabetes, two health conditions that significantly impact nutritional health, are also comorbid with heart disease.
Being proactive about cardiovascular health is achievable in your community, most easily through your culinary program. What we eat is directly tied to our heart health, so having a menu reflecting your commitment to this proactivity is a must in long-term care.
Recommended Foods for a Heart-Healthy Diet
If you’ve ever talked to your doctor about a more heart-healthy diet, they’ve probably told you to cut back on sodium and saturated fats, and they’re right. The first step toward achieving this is determining which foods work best for your overall health, which may involve demystifying some of the common “facts” you know about sodium. For example, did you know that although sea salt is promoted as a healthier alternative to table salt, it has the same amount of sodium (40%)?
Here are some of the top recommended foods for a heart-healthy diet:
- Leafy green vegetables like kale, spinach, and cabbage
- Fruits like bananas, apples, berries, and oranges
- Garlic
- Avocados and tomatoes
- Whole grains like brown rice, couscous, oats, or whole-grain breads and bagels
- Seafood and shellfish
- Legumes and beans (specifically black beans), lentils, and chickpeas.
- Healthier oils like olive, soybean, sunflower, or canola oil
- Healthy fats
- Nuts like walnuts and almonds
- Dark chocolate
- Low-fat (or fat-free) dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese) or soy milk
The best part? Eating more of these foods helps more than just heart health; they also decrease the risk of other health conditions and symptoms like high blood pressure, inflammation, and high cholesterol. Adopting a diet focused on whole, nutrient-dense foods will make your residents feel better mentally and physically.
Creating Resident-Focused, Heart-Healthy Meal Plans
Now that we’ve identified some heart-healthy foods, let’s talk about how you can turn those into a full menu. While having a menu dedicated to heart-healthy selections isn’t feasible for most long-term care communities, including these options for everyone to enjoy is possible. To start, here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin to assemble a menu or make changes to your existing one:
- Promote physical activity and a healthy diet by offering nutrition and exercise classes or seminars focused on nutrition education. Getting 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day is recommended to maintain good heart health.
- Balance portion sizes according to a resident’s needs. If one part of the meal is sodium-heavy, limit the rest of the plate to low-sodium foods. Avoid giving too much food, as overeating can also be a risk factor for heart disease.
- Reduce resident stress by increasing the amount of mental health programming or wellness checks in your community. The lower your stress, the lower your cortisol (the stress hormone) levels are, which leads to lower blood pressure and, therefore, better heart health.
EatingWell published a list of the top 10 heart-healthy diets recommended by cardiologists. This list featured typical favorites like the Mediterranean diet, but a surprising meal plan topped the list – the D.A.S.H. “diet.” It’s not technically a diet, but more of a set of guidelines to help you eat more heart healthy. Since experts recommend not consuming more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, D.A.S.H suggests that a diet geared toward plants (i.e., fruits and vegetables) and includes grains and healthy fats is best for heart health. D.A.S.H.-friendly recipes for sweet treats like banana split oatmeal and old favorites like American goulash are two examples of how creative you can get when brainstorming different ways to make your menu more interesting.
The D.A.S.H. diet works wonders for lowering an older adult’s risk for poor cardiovascular health, but prevention isn’t the only thing to focus on. For residents who already have a diagnosis of heart disease, providing modified diets helps to increase their menu options – something that also promotes empowerment and, ultimately, resident satisfaction.
At Culinary Services Group, we take both of those things seriously. Our culinary philosophy is based on providing person-centered care, where we focus on giving residents a meal plan that works with their needs and preferences – not one that forces them to eat boring, bland, or bad food. Celebrate American Heart Month by talking with one of our sales representatives today about how we can make your dining program more heart healthy.
