How foods impact heart health

First Saturday at the State Fair of Texas and the gates they're about to open at 10 o'clock or so. Now the food is definitely a highlight at the fair but it's so important to remember your health can actually take a hit from all the fried sugary Texas-sized delicacies. Joining us this morning to help you safely enjoy fair food and maybe not overindulge is Julia Shaw from Teladoc Health. Good morning to you Julia. Good morning Cleo. Thank you for having me. Glad to have you. First things first, tomorrow is World Heart Day. Tell us what makes this day so special. Yeah absolutely. World Heart Day is important because it raises awareness about cardiovascular diseases which unfortunately are the leading cause of death globally. It's a reminder for everyone to take their heart health seriously, make those lifestyle changes and adopt healthier habits. The day encourages people to be more proactive in managing risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and lack of physical activity, all of which can have a major impact on our heart health. Yeah you're absolutely right and I feel like some people do make those lifestyle changes like trying to exercise more but it's really in your food and what we eat as well. High sodium is often the culprit for heart health. Why is that and what are some ways to maybe lessen the load? Yeah good question. So consuming too much of that sodium or salt, it raises our blood pressure which puts an extra strain on our heart and our blood vessels which increases the risk of our heart disease, stroke and heart failure. So a couple things to do to reduce that salt intake is first know your salt sources. Stay informed. It's in a lot of common ingredients like soy sauce, monosodium glutamate which is MSG, baking soda, baking powder and even some antacids. Also opting for fresher non-packaged foods. Salt is often used as a preservative in processed foods so aiming for that fresh and non-packaged is a great way to do that. Yeah yeah flavor without salt too. Those canned soups man they have a lot of sodium as well. Let's talk about fats. Fats can also hurt your heart health but not all fats are the same. Can you walk us through some of the good and bad ones? Yeah absolutely. So there's a couple different types of fats. There's good fats which are the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Those are found in things like olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and fatty fish. And then there's also the unhealthy fats, the saturated fats and the trans fats. Those are found in foods like red meat, full-fat dairy, processed foods, baked goods, fried foods and those can actually raise our bad cholesterol, our LDL and increase the risk for heart disease. So it's best to limit those those saturated and trans fats. Yeah let's talk about the treats at the state fair and what we should know. I mean I love to get the turkey leg, a corny dog and of course a funnel cake. Yes the state fair is always such a great time and known for indulgent fried foods. Yeah. But there is a way to enjoy yourself while also being mindful. So first all about balance. Try sharing those big fair sized portions with friends and family so you're not overindulging by yourself. Also plan around that one favorite item that you look forward to each year. Plan around instead of sampling everything say you know I'm gonna do that turkey leg. Another tip is to stay active. Fairgrounds are huge so take advantage, walk, keep moving, get that exercise in and then drink plenty of water. It's key to staying hydrated especially if you're out in the Texas heat. Yeah great tips and I like that idea of maybe sharing one of those things. All right thank you so much for joining us this morning. Absolutely thank you. Of course straight ahead.