Reading Food Labels After a Heart Attack
Experiencing a heart attack can be an extremely stressful and downright scary time. Caring for someone after they have had a heart attack can be equally as stressful. Particularly so, if you are trying to navigate the new diagnosis, along with treatment plans that include multiple new medications, as well as changes to diet. In this article, I share guidance to help with reading food labels, after a heart attack diagnosis.
The Nutrition Facts Table
You may often use the nutrition facts table to choose which food items to purchase. Or, reading nutrition facts tables may be a fairly new concept for you. Health Canada has a wonderful resource available here if you would like a general guide to understanding and using nutrition facts tables.
It can seem confusing when looking at labels to decide which product is suitable for someone after they have experienced a heart attack. To make reading these tables easier, let us focus on four areas: Serving Size, Percent Daily Value, Saturated Fat, and Sodium.
Serving Size
The first step in determining if a product is suitable for someone is looking at the serving size. Why may this be useful? The rest of the table is based on what the industry has decided a serving size is. A serving size may not be the portion size you or your loved one will eat. Always check this first and determine if you will need to multiply or divide each of the items in the nutrition facts table.
Example - A serving size is 4 crackers, and you may typically enjoy 8 crackers at your meal. So you would then double the calories, protein, fibre, etc.
Percent Daily Value
Diving deeper into the nutrition facts table, look at the percentages listed on the far right. These are percent daily values (% DV) and show how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a diet in a day.
Sodium
As I mentioned in my last article on Improving Heart Health in Three Simple Steps, eating foods with too much sodium can increase the amount of blood in the arteries and raise blood pressure. After a heart attack, lowering sodium intake is necessary as part of the treatment process, as well as to prevent further heart attacks and other concerns, such as stroke.
The % DV for sodium is set at 2400 mg(1). Contrarily, adequate intake, which is suggested for adults over the age of 30 is 1200 mg/day. This is a big difference, and only adds to confusion for consumers, when they are looking to reduce their sodium intake. Look at the % DV and determine if the food will have a little or a lot of sodium. 5% or fewer means there is a little sodium in the food, whereas 15% or more means there is a lot of sodium in the food. You can use this simple guidance when reducing salt intake for yourself and your loved one.
Example #1 - A glass of 1% milk has 5% DV for sodium. This food contains little sodium.
Example #2 - One serving of black forest ham has 21% DV for sodium. This food contains a lot of sodium.
Saturated Fat
Alberta Health Services describes saturated fats as fats that can increase your level of bad cholesterol, which can create a sticky plaque that can eventually block your blood vessels. This plaque can break off, causing a blood clot to form around it, which is most often seen in heart attack patients. As part of the long-term treatment for a heart attack and prevention of further events, it is important to reduce your intake of saturated fats and replace them with unsaturated fats.
The % DV for saturated fat is set at 20 g(1). This number also includes trans fats. Fear not though, trans fats were banned in food production in Canada in 2018. One less thing to be concerned about. Remember, 5% or fewer means there is only a little saturated fat in the food, whereas 15% or more means there is a lot of saturated fat in the food.
Example #1 - One serving of salmon is 98 g (3.5 oz) and has a 1.5% DV for saturated fat. This food contains a little saturated fat.
Example #2 - One serving of rotisserie chicken is 100 g (3.5 oz) and has 15% DV for saturated fat. This food contains a lot of saturated fat.
Reading and using food labels to make your grocery store purchases can seem like a daunting challenge. I hope you have enjoyed learning about how to read food labels, after a heart attack.
Where can I get more support with nutrition for healthy aging?
If you would like more information on reading food nutrition labels for heart health or other reasons, I am happy to help! I offer in-home, in-office, and virtual assessment services as well as meal planning. My ultimate goal is to ensure you and your loved ones are getting the nutrition needed to stay happy, healthy, and strong, for as long as possible.
Read more about my services here: Virtual and In-Person Nutrition Counselling.
If you would like to book your free 15-minute discovery call with me, you can do so here.
And remember to check with your insurance provider to see if you are covered for Registered Dietitian Services through your plan or health spending account. Dietitian services are also tax deductible!
References
- Health Canada. (2022). Understanding Food Labels - Nutrition Facts Tables. Government of Canada. Canada.ca. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/understanding-food-labels/nutrition-facts-tables.html
- Alberta Health Services. (n.d.). The lowdown on fats. Alberta Health Services. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/nutrition/Page8923.aspx