2-Eating the Right Foods to Protect Your Blood Vessels

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4. You Don’t Have to Give Up Rice—Just Control the Amount

For many Chinese families, a typical meal may include a large bowl of rice with several dishes.

For people who need to control their blood sugar or weight, the issue is not that “rice is bad.” The bigger concern is that eating too much refined carbohydrate can significantly increase the amount of carbohydrates consumed in one meal.

The American Heart Association recommends choosing whole grains instead of refined grains whenever possible. Diabetes dietary recommendations similarly emphasize portion control and choosing whole grains.

Therefore, instead of completely eliminating rice, a more practical approach is:

Eat a little less rice and more vegetables and protein.

For example, you can use the following simple “plate method”:

* ½ of the plate: vegetables

* ¼ of the plate: protein

* ¼ of the plate: rice, whole grains, or other healthy carbohydrates

If you normally eat white rice, you can gradually reduce the proportion of white rice and add brown rice, oats, or other whole grains.

5. Tofu Is a Food Worth Keeping in Your Diet

Tofu is a traditional Chinese food and is also a convenient source of plant-based protein.

It can replace some meat in meals, for example:

* Tofu stir-fried with vegetables

* Tofu cooked with fish

* Tofu soup

* Cold tofu with vegetables

* Tofu with mushrooms and leafy greens

The American Heart Association lists tofu, beans, peas, and lentils as healthy protein sources that can replace some meats higher in saturated fat.

For Chinese families, this is particularly convenient because tofu, soybeans, black beans, and unsweetened soy milk are already familiar foods.

However, people with diabetes should still pay attention to the nutritional content and portion sizes of different soy products, especially sweetened soy milk and other sweetened soy foods.

6. Use Olive Oil for Cooking

When choosing cooking oils, consider reducing sources of saturated fat such as butter and lard and using liquid plant oils instead.

Olive oil is an excellent choice.

The American Heart Association recommends using olive oil and other liquid plant oils instead of butter, lard, and other solid fats that contain more saturated fat.

There is one important point to clarify:

This does not mean that avocado oil is unhealthy.

Avocados contain healthy unsaturated fats, and avocado oil is also a plant-based oil. From a cardiovascular-health perspective, the key is to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats rather than simply declaring one healthy plant oil to be the only “best” choice.

Therefore, if your family already uses olive oil regularly, it can certainly be used as one of your primary cooking oils.

However, even healthy oils should be used in moderation. Healthy oil is still high in calories.

7. Eat Plenty of Vegetables, Especially Non-Starchy Vegetables

If you want to take care of your cholesterol, blood sugar, and cardiovascular health at the same time, vegetables should make up an important part of your daily diet.

Examples include:

* Broccoli

* Spinach

* Chinese broccoli

* Napa cabbage

* Cauliflower

* Celery

* Bell peppers

* Tomatoes

* Cucumbers

* Mushrooms

* Eggplant

* Lettuce

These vegetables generally provide plenty of dietary fiber and nutrients while containing relatively fewer carbohydrates than foods such as rice and noodles.

A simple principle to follow is:

Make sure you have enough vegetables first, then add protein, and finally control the amount of starch or grains.

8. Oatmeal, Beans, and Whole Grains Can Help Lower Cholesterol

If you are concerned about high cholesterol, dietary fiber deserves special attention.

NIH recommendations for cholesterol management emphasize increasing soluble fiber, which is found in foods such as oats, beans, and certain fruits. Soluble fiber can reduce the absorption of cholesterol and fat in the digestive tract and can help lower LDL cholesterol.

For breakfast, consider:

Oatmeal + nuts + a small amount of fruit

instead of:

Sweet bread + jam + a sugary drink.

Beans are also an excellent choice, including:

* Black beans

* Red beans

* Soybeans

* Lentils

* Chickpeas

However, people with diabetes should remember that beans, although very healthy, still contain carbohydrates, so portion size matters.

9. Nuts Are Healthy, but Don’t Eat Too Many

Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, and pistachios contain unsaturated fats, protein, and other nutrients and can be part of a healthy diet.

However, nuts have one important characteristic:

They are healthy, but they are also high in calories.

Therefore, don’t eat handful after handful. Choose raw or unsalted nuts whenever possible and pay attention to portion size.

10. Which Foods Should You Reduce the Most?

If all of these recommendations are condensed into a simple list, the following foods should be limited:

1. Fatty Meat and Processed Meat

For example:

* Pork belly

* Fatty beef

* Sausage

* Bacon

* Ham

* Luncheon meat