The one food a NHS GP recommends avoiding for a healthy life
When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, doctors will often admit that everything should be consumed in moderation. However, there is one dietary element that you should start saying ‘no’ to more often if you want to become an example of optimal cardiac health, according to an NHS GP.
Despite a ‘balanced diet’ often being touted as the best way to live, others are keen to follow different advice, such as eating like Blue Zone residents or following a strict plant-based meal plan.
Others are likely to take inspiration from their favourite celebrities, including Jelly Roll, who recently shed a whopping 200lbs; Tom Holland, who recently revealed his go-to breakfast choice; former NFL icon Tom Brady, a star who used to follow the ‘TB12 diet’; and The Odyssey’s Matt Damon, a gluten-free star.
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If you are specifically interested in keeping your heart healthy, then Dr Luke Pratsides, an NHS general practitioner and Chief Medical Officer at preventative health clinic Get A Drip, is on hand to help.
In a recent interview, the health expert revealed the ‘one key thing to reduce in your diet’ if you want to improve the organ’s health - and it’s saturated fat.
How to reduce saturated fat in your diet
One of the easiest ways to do this is by consuming less processed meats than usual.
This means reducing the amount of sausages, bacon, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets you regularly eat.
Other items high in saturated fats that you should only reach for as a treat include ‘cereals and cereal products’, such as pre-packaged sandwiches that you can buy in the supermarket, as well as pizza, sweet biscuits, and cakes.
Worryingly, the government's National Diet and Nutrition Survey for 2019 to 2023 showed that the largest source of saturated fat in the UK diet is now this ‘cereals and cereal products’ group.
It’s understood that the items make up to 31 percent of saturated fat intake in adults’ diets and 37 percent in kids aged between 4 and 18.
So, if you’re looking to improve your health, this is possibly the place to start spot reducing.
As per Dr Pratsides, meat and other meat products contribute a further 12 to 19 percent of daily saturated fat intake across all age groups.
Speaking about the dangers of high saturated fat diets, the expert told the Express: “Saturated fat raises LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol that builds up in artery walls and narrows them over time, which is a major driver of heart attack and stroke risk.
“Processed meat carries an extra concern, since much of it is also high in salt, and a high salt intake raises blood pressure, another leading cause of heart and circulatory disease.”
He told the publication that while you don’t need to completely cut these foods out of your diet, you should indulge in them mindfully.
Choosing to eat processed meat less often, opting for leaner cuts of meats, and treating bakery items as ‘occasional treats rather than automatic choices’ are two of the most ‘evidence-based diet changes people can make for their heart’, he added.
Ella Scott