The heart of the matter

It is important to keep your heart healthy so that you can live life to the full. There are lots of things that affect how well our hearts work, and the good news is we can control most of them. And of course, this advice is just as important for kids as adults. It's never too early to think about the future health of your children's hearts.

You can help your child grow up with a healthy heart by encouraging a healthy diet, keeping them active, and helping them maintain a healthy weight. This can help keep cholesterol at a healthy level.

We'll talk about nutrition in more detail in The Balance of Good Health section, but it's worth mentioning at this point that the type of fat your kids eat is as important as the amount. Fats can be divided into 'bad' or saturated and trans fats, and 'good' or unsaturated fat such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

If you eat too much of the 'bad' fat, you can produce more cholesterol than your body needs. Cholesterol is a fat that is made by our body. We need it for our body to work properly and also to make certain vitamins and hormones. If we have too much cholesterol in the body it can build up in the arteries around the heart and can affect our heart health. Experts believe this can happen in children from as young as two years old.

Fats to avoid

It's therefore important for your children to avoid eating food that's high in saturated fat. These fats are found in foods such as fatty meat products, pastries, cakes, butter and cream. You should avoid these foods and aim to replace butter with a heart friendly polyunsaturated spread.

Trans fats can also raise cholesterol levels and it's advisable to avoid foods that are high in these fats. These include fast food, takeaways and biscuits.

Fats for health

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat are both considered to be 'good' fats. They are healthy options for your children and should be used instead of the 'bad' fats already mentioned.

Monounsaturated fat is found in foods such as avocado, olive oil and some spreads, rapeseed oil, nuts and nut spreads. Polyunsaturated fat is found in vegetable oils such as sunflower, corn, safflower oil and some spreads. It can also be found in flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, walnuts and green leafy vegetables. Oily fish such as mackerel, trout, salmon, sardines and herrings are also rich sources of polyunsaturated fat.

If you replace bad fats with good fats, you will give your kids a very good chance of having a healthy heart as an adult.

The Florahearts website also features lots more great advice to help you look after your heart, including detailed information on blood pressure and cholesterol.