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Poor Diet Tied to Nearly Half of US Deaths From Heart Disease, Stroke, Diabetes

  • March 08, 2017

About 45 percent of deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes could be blamed on a poor diet, Reuters reports. Ensuring that you eat the right amounts of certain foods could prevent this, the news agency said — with 10 dietary components that can make or break your diet.

My food pyramid in my updated nutrition plan addresses the need to eat heart healthy foods — and is exactly the inverse of the original USDA food pyramid, featuring healthful fats and vegetables on the bottom, followed by high-quality proteins, fruits, and lastly, grains.

One of the “master keys” to healthy eating is to EAT REAL FOOD. The closer you stay to whole, unadulterated, unprocessed foods, the likelier you are to be eating healthy fats, beneficial carbs and high-quality protein. This means getting at east 50 percent of your daily calories from healthful fats such as avocados, coconut oil, nuts and raw organic butter.

In terms of bulk or quantity, vegetables should be the most prominent feature on your plate. Veggies provide countless critical nutrients, while being sparse on calories. Next comes high quality proteins, followed by a moderate amount of fruits, and lastly, at the very top, you'll find grains and sugars.

Other healthy strategies for overall good health as well as a healthy heart and weight include sitting less and moving more, engaging in intermittent fasting — which involves cutting calories in whole or in part, either a couple of days a week, every other day, or even daily — and getting eight hours of sleep each night.