Eat Smart, Live Strong: Heart Health Basics with Jennifer Wright, MS, RD, LD, CDCES

Your heart does not need a miracle diet. It needs steady habits that fit your life. We sat down with registered dietitian and certified diabetes counselor Jennifer Wright to focus on what actually works: simple food swaps, small upgrades, and easy rules of thumb that help lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol.

We cover the core plate method, half fruits and vegetables, a quarter lean protein, and a quarter whole grains, and explain why unsaturated fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts, and salmon are better for heart health than saturated fats. Jennifer also clears up myths about coconut oil and “healthy” granola, and shares a simple way to use percent Daily Value on Nutrition Facts labels to quickly spot lower sodium and lower saturated fat options.

You will learn practical ways to cut sodium, make smarter restaurant choices, and add more fiber rich foods like beans. We also talk about the power of daily walking and why small, consistent changes matter most.

If this episode helps simplify heart health, follow, share, and leave a review. Your next heart healthy choice starts today.

Thank you for listening to the MedLink Georgia Podcast. New episodes feature conversations with providers, leaders, and community partners who are working to improve access to quality, compassionate care.

Follow us on social media to stay connected and see what’s happening across MedLink Georgia: https://linktr.ee/medlinkga?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=9abf8b6b-20aa-4b26-912c-c59f243724be

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you enjoyed this episode, please share it and leave a review. Your support helps more people find the show and stay connected to our mission.

Transcript

Welcome And Goals

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Medlink Health Connections podcast. Today we're talking about heart health and how the foods we eat and some everyday habits can really make a difference. There's a lot of information out there and it can get overwhelming pretty fast. So today we're just going to break it down into simple practical tips you can actually use in real life. I'm joined today by Jennifer Wright. She's a registered dietitian and she has her master's in nutrition and she is also a certified diabetes counselor here at Medlink, Georgia. We're going to talk through some common myths, things like sodium, fats, and portion sizes, and some realistic ways to make heart-healthy choices without feeling like you have to change everything overnight. So whether you're just getting started or looking to make a small few changes, this conversation is for you. To begin, for someone just starting out their heart health journey, what does a heart healthy diet actually look like in simple terms?

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Uh great question. Thanks, Tangela. Um uh so okay, so someone just starting on their heart healthy journey. Um, in simple terms, I I guess I would just say kind of focusing on whole foods, um fruits, vegetables, whole grains, uh, you know, lean meats, that kind of stuff, just to just to just to be the simplest about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Okay. And are there specific foods you recommend most often for improving heart health and why? Um also a good question.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

So there's there's a lot of them. Um when it comes to heart health, we might think of kind of our our healthier fats, um, you know, olive oil, maybe something like avocado, things that have omega-3 fatty acids in them. Uh, but there's also, I mean, things that have a lot of good fiber, fruits, vegetables. Um, I think one that that I I don't think is given enough highlightedness is uh beans, uh, like your black beans. Um, I think is is a great option of getting protein and fiber in a way that that can be very heart healthy.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Okay, and what are some foods that people often think are heart healthy, but may not be as beneficial as they assume?

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Ooh, um, so there was there was a time, I don't know, maybe like five, seven years ago, where uh coconut oil was getting all the rage um as like a heart-healthy fat. I think, I think there are still some people that hold on to that. Uh, and at the time it was thought that coconut oil contained a lot of those uh what we'd call like polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are heart healthy. Um, but I think once further research came out, it kind of has a mix between some healthy fats and then and then also unhealthy fats. So it's not necessarily an oil we recommend using on an everyday basis for heart health. Usually, if people like coconut oil, I'd recommend it for just the flavor aspect. If they're cooking a dish that they want that coconut flavor in, that's fine. Um, other than that, maybe granola, um, which might just be considered as an overall healthy food, which can be, if made, you know, focusing on protein, but a lot of the times it ends up just being a lot of sugar, a lot of carbs, not super filling. Um, and and that can be not great for our heart.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Um, how do fats play a role in heart health? And what type should we include and which should we limit?

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Right. Yeah. So that kind of that kind of goes back to like the what we'd call like healthy fats and non-healthy fats. Um, so generally healthy fats are considered uh unsaturated fats. Um, while maybe our not so healthy fats are considered saturated fats. A good rule of thumb that I tell people is that your unsaturated healthy fats are typically um liquid at room temperature. So if you think of like your olive oil, um, that's where like coconut oil sometimes has some healthy fats because sometimes it's kind of liquid at room temperature, where your unhealthy fats typically are more solid at room temperature. So thinking like butter is more solid, right, at room temperature. It might get soft, but it's not going to turn into a liquid at room temperature. Or um bacon grease, you know, after you're done cooking it, when that when that pan cools down to room temperature, that that baking grease solidifies. Uh, and so and so that's kind of a easier way, I guess, to to separate them into what would be a healthier versus not as healthy fats.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

And how important is sodium when it comes to heart health? And what are realistic ways to cut back without sacrificing flavor?

Eating Out And Fast Food Tactics

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Um, so the role sodium, so everybody needs some sodium or salt in their diet. Um, when it comes to sodium and heart health, too much sodium can cause uh high blood pressure, and that can that can put a lot of strain on the heart, leading to some heart disease or heart issues that we wouldn't want. I think a common misconception is that there's a lot of people that that limit salt in their cooking. The majority of salt that we consume comes from processed foods. Probably 70% of the salt that we consume comes from packaged foods, um, things where the salt is already incorporated in it. So, so trying to just make more food at home, even if you are putting a little bit of salt on it or you're using herbs, you know, seasonings, um, Mrs. Dash is a great option for some like herbal seasoning, but like Italian herbs, basil, oregano, you know, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, there's still lots of ways to add a lot of flavor without adding a lot of salt. And if you're really trying to limit your salt and you're not cooking with salt, um, I do find that the combination of maybe some like fresh garlic with lemon juice kind of mimics that same taste receptor receptor on our tongue that makes us think like we're having salt. And that that makes, I think it feel like it's like a salty dish without adding any salt to it.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

So that's that's a nice fun little tip I like to tell people sometimes if they want the flavor without adding the salt.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yeah, that's really informational, I guess. Um but for some busy individuals or families, what are some heart healthy swaps they can make at home or when eating out?

Building A Heart-Healthy Plate

SPEAKER_02 6:50

Oh, okay, good question. Um so when eating out, because I think again, like a lot of our a lot of our salt is coming from like eating outside of the home. Um like let's say if you're going to a restaurant, opting for some sort of like steamed vegetables on your side and instead of um the fries, maybe. Otherwise, sometimes, sometimes you can ask the place if you're going out to eat, sometimes you can ask them to prepare like your chicken or your meat or whatever kind of main dish you have without any additional like butter or oil. Um, it just depends on where you're going to, but a lot of places are pretty good about accommodating um the customers. If you're going out to eat at fast food restaurants, it's really hard. I mean, there's just so much. The reason it's fast food is because, you know, there's so much salt added into it. It's it's kind of like a nice little preservative. So they can get food really quickly that stays somewhat fresh. Um it's yeah, it's you can you can definitely look up the nutrition facts label for any any any restaurant that has more than like 20 or 25 locations, they are legally required to provide their nutrition information. So all the McDonald's, you know, Zaxby's, Chick-fil-A's, RB's, all those common places that we all know, they have their nutrition facts labels online. If you look up Chick-fil-A and nutrition facts, you can pull up maybe a PDF of all of their foods with the nutrition label on it. You'd maybe try to choose the ones that have the less sodium in it, or maybe the ones that have the less saturated fat. Um, but at the end of the day, even the lowest sodium option at a fast food restaurant is still sometimes a really high salt amount. Um, in general, we want to keep our sodium less than 2,300 milligrams per day. Some dishes at fast food restaurants, like Zaxby's, like the wings and things I was just looking at the other day, has almost 5,000 milligrams of sodium for that one meal. That's two times you know what you're supposed to be eating in a day in one meal.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

So if you're eating out multiple times a day, I mean our sodium's through the roof, probably.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Yeah, that's crazy. Um, kind of going back to the basics just a little bit, and you know, what does a heart-healthy plate look like for a typical breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

Smarter Grocery Shopping And Labels

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Um, yeah, so so if we're thinking like whole foods, if we're thinking of creating that balance on our plate, um generally we recommend half of our plate containing containing some sort of fruits or vegetables. Um, depending on your health conditions, you know, if you have diabetes, you're watching your carbohydrate intake, you might err on the side of more vegetables on that half of a plate. Um, but fruits and vegetables are naturally sodium-free. They have a lot of fiber in it, which is good for you know our heart and our health. Um, they have a lot of micronutrients that have been shown to be very heart healthy. Like I said earlier, I think beans are a great source of cheap protein that can be really heart healthy. Typically, the main source of food on our plate are meat. So, like your steaks, hamburgers, beef, um, those are going to be the ones most likely to cause elevated cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, which can lead to heart-related problems. So trying to choose the leanest meats possible, which would be um like your chicken, skinless, chicken breast, um, turkey breast, eggs maybe, um, and then like fatty fish, like your salmon, has really good heart health benefits to it, and limiting more of the red meats, and then really limiting your processed meats. So things like hot dogs, processed deli meats, you know, sausage, that can have a lot of really terrible heart um effects from it. Um, again, everything in moderation is okay, but if somebody's diet, you know, is pretty heavy on hot dogs and hamburgers, trying to swap that out with leaner meats, adding fruits and vegetables to the side, and then trying to have as many whole grains, you know, as you can, which would be like whole wheat bread, maybe brown rice. Again, it has more fiber in it, and fiber can be very beneficial for your heart health.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Okay. And so, kind of like getting to the shopping part of this, or how can people grocery shop smarter when trying to support heart health, especially when reading those nutrition labels?

Portion Sizes And Moderation

SPEAKER_02 11:30

Yes, okay, good. So um, so there's kind of that there's like an old philosophy that if you shop on the perimeter of the grocery store, that's kind of where all of the more like health foods are, which isn't necessarily incorrect, but there's a lot of really great foods that you can get in the aisles. Again, I'm gonna say it again, beans, great option. Um, but I I like the question about nutrition labels. What I tell my patients all the time, because nutrition labels can get confusing, when you're looking at the nutrition label and you're looking at each kind of line item, all the way on the right hand side, you're gonna see a percentage. It might be 15%, 7%, 33%. That's what we call your percent daily value. Now that's based off of the average American who consumes about 2,000 calories a day. So it's not a perfect situation for everyone, but it's it's a good place to start. If you're looking at the sodium line or the saturated fat or the cholesterol, whatever you're kind of trying to limit, anything above 20% is considered high. So when you're choosing maybe between a couple different products and you're trying to watch your sodium levels, you'd want to look for the one with the least percentage of sodium. Again, the milligrams are going to be different, and it's hard to remember how many milligrams of sodium versus cholesterol versus saturated fat. Um, but the percentages you can use universally for any of those different options on the nutrition label. Over 20% equals high. So if you have one item that's, you know, 50% sodium, one that's 25, and then one that's 13, you know, maybe you go with the option that's 13 just to be the most heart healthy.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

What role does portion sizes play in heart health, even when someone is eating healthy foods?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Um I mean, I guess the the simplest answer to that is and too much of anything is not going to be good for us. Um so, so even if you're just eating a bunch of fruits and vegetables, you know, while that's very low sodium and very high fiber, you know, too much fiber can cause gastrointestinal distress. Um and then you're you're lacking other areas of nutrients like your protein, which just, you know, fruits and vegetables are great. They just don't have a lot of protein, they don't have a lot of healthy fats, you know. So eating eating a variety of food is what's really important for maintaining health. Um and just again, like moderation is everything. So those foods that we know are are gonna be a little bit uh less healthy for our heart, every once in a while it's gonna be okay to have a steak. Um, you know, it's what we do the majority of the time that's gonna make the biggest difference. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

So kind of beyond food, what lifestyle habits have the biggest impact on supporting heart health?

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Um, like uh okay, so like outside of food, um, not smoking. So not smoking is gonna be a big, a big one. Um, and then maybe like some physical activity. Um, walking, any sort of like cardiovascular, which would be again like any anything that gets the heart rate moving a little bit. So walking is a great form of exercise. It's free. Um, maybe you can't really walk outside right now.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Uh, don't know when you're gonna post this, but this is like pre-snowstorm post-ice apocalypse.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

Um, probably nobody's walking this week. But otherwise, I mean, again, like walking outside with fresh air helps build that heart strength really easily. And and it doesn't, you don't, you know, it doesn't take a lot to do it. Um, but that's that's a really big thing that not a lot of people are are doing is being physically active.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

And how does that physical activity work together with nutrition to support a healthy heart?

One Small Change Strategy

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Um, good question. What I what I normally tell people um when it comes to health in general, which I think we could probably translate to heart health, um food is like your main star of the show. Physical activity is a really great supporting role. Um, and sometimes like when we're thinking of a movie, you need both. You need the main star of the show and you need the supporting actor or actress. But it's the main star of the show that's kind of you know bringing all the attention. So um, you know, if you're if you're exercising, that's great. But if you're not following it up with a with a healthful diet, um, you still might not see the results you would like in terms of heart health. So you gotta have both, but definitely emphasizing on nutrition.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Okay, and just from your experience, what is one small change you've seen make a big difference for patients?

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Hmm. That is a good question. Because I don't I don't think there's just one one thing that would it's it's like the accumulation of a lot of small things, if that makes sense. Um you know, I'll I'll tell people, you know, we'll talk about different ideas of how they can improve their diet. And and you know, sometimes we talk about a lot of stuff. It's hard for, you know, I don't expect people to remember every single thing we talk about. But um, even if I just kind of help to give them the knowledge and then I encourage them for like every meal that they're having, every snack that they're having, to kind of look at that and just think what's one thing I could do to this meal to make it a little bit better. You know, if I'm not eating a vegetable with it, could I eat a vegetable? Could I have a fruit on the side with it? Um, could I maybe have a little smaller portion of the beef and load up on the veggies? Could I make sure I'm drinking water with the meal? And and the idea is that hopefully if every single time they're eating, they're trying to find that one small change to make it better, that's going to accumulate to larger changes, which will which will make big differences.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

If you could give one piece of heart healthy advice for someone listening, what would it be?

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Um to not make it too complicated. I I think there's there's so much information out there about nutrition. There's so much information that you can Google on the internet. And at the end of the day, I think sometimes you just have to bring it back to basics. You don't need any of the fancy powders, supplements, pills, you know, that promise all this kind of stuff. A lot of the times, notoriously, like we're just not eating those whole foods. Like a ton of Americans are just not getting fruits and vegetables in every day. I mean, if even if we just try to focus on like make sure I'm eating a fruit and a vegetable every single day, that could make a huge difference. That doesn't have to be super complicated, doesn't have to be super expensive. Um, so I think if people are really overwhelmed with all of the information that they're getting online, is to just kind of bring it back to the basics and just start there. And that and there can be a lot of change that happens.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Okay, well, thank you so much, Ginny, for joining us. Absolutely. We thank you for sharing all of your knowledge on Heart Healthy Nutrition, and we appreciate your time and all of the important things that you do for Medlink.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Well, thank you, Tangela, for inviting me back. Um, it's always great talking with you.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Thank you for tuning in to the Medlink Health Connections podcast. We hope you found today's episode informative and inspiring. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Remember, the information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns. Stay connected with us on social media and visit our website at medlinkga.org for more resources and updates. Until next time, stay healthy and take care.