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Heart-Healthy Diet

Healthy Habits for a Healthy Heart

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Heart-Healthy Eating

Heart-healthy eating can support your heart and blood vessels. It can also limit things that can harm them. Eating this way can also help control your risk of heart disease. It is vital for people who have:

You can eat this way and still choose from many types of foods. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Focus on Healthy Foods

Healthy foods have high of vitamins, minerals, and other things your body needs. They have less things like salt and trans fats. These can harm vessels. They can also make blood pressure or cholesterol worse. Whole foods that are close to their normal state are:

Heart-healthy eating focuses on these foods. Processed foods aren't as healthy. These are foods in boxes, cans, or bags. They should be eaten rarely. They have little nutritional value. They are also high in things like fats and salt. Read food labels to find out how much of these the foods you eat have. Always pick whole foods first.

Food Choices

Here are some changes you can make.

Food Healthy choices... Do not eat or eat rarely...
Grains
  • Breads and rolls without salted tops
  • Most dry and cooked cereals
  • Unsalted crackers and breadsticks
  • Low-salt or homemade breadcrumbs or stuffing
  • All rice and pastas
  • Make half of your daily grains whole grains
  • Breads, rolls, and crackers with salted tops
  • High-fat baked goods like muffins, donuts, and pastries
  • Quick breads, self-rising flour, and biscuit mixes
  • Bread crumbs
  • Instant hot cereals
  • Pre-made rice, pasta, or stuffing mixes
Fruits and veggies
  • Most fresh, frozen, and low-salt canned fruits and veggies
  • Low-salt and salt-free veggie juices
  • All fruit juices
  • Canned veggies if unsalted or rinsed
  • Canned veggies and juices, such as sauerkraut and pickled veggies
  • Fruits with salt
  • Frozen veggies with sauces
  • Pre-made potato and veggie mixes
Milk
  • Nonfat or low-fat (1%) milk
  • Nonfat or low-fat yogurt
  • Cottage cheese, low-fat ricotta, cheeses labeled as low-fat and low-salt
  • Whole milk
  • Reduced-fat (2%) milk
  • Malted and chocolate milk
  • Full fat yogurt
  • Most cheeses, unless low-fat and low salt
  • Buttermilk (no more than 1 cup per week)
Meats and Beans
  • Lean cuts of fresh or frozen beef, veal, lamb, or pork (look for the word loin)
  • Fresh or frozen poultry without the skin
  • Fresh or frozen fish and some shellfish
  • Egg whites and egg substitutes (Limit whole eggs to three per week)
  • Tofu
  • Nuts or seeds (unsalted, dry-roasted), low-salt peanut butter
  • Dried peas, beans, and lentils
  • Any smoked, cured, salted, or canned meat, fish, or poultry, such as bacon, chipped beef, cold cuts, hot dogs, sausages, sardines, and anchovies
  • Poultry skins
  • Breaded and/or fried fish or meats
  • Canned peas, beans, and lentils
  • Salted nuts
Fats and Oils
  • Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in olive oil and canola oil
  • Low-salt, low-fat salad dressings and mayo
  • Saturated and trans fats found in some butter, margarine, coconut and palm oils, bacon fat
Snacks, Sweets, and Condiments
  • Low-salt or unsalted versions of broths, soups, soy sauce, and condiments
  • Pepper, herbs, and spices; vinegar, lemon, or lime juice
  • Low-fat frozen desserts (yogurt, sherbet, fruit bars)
  • Sugar, cocoa powder, honey, syrup, and jam
  • Low-fat, trans-fat free cookies, cakes, and pies
  • Graham and animal crackers, fig bars, ginger snaps
  • High-fat desserts
  • Broth, soups, gravies, and sauces, made from instant mixes or other high-salt items
  • Salted snack foods
  • Canned olives
  • Meat tenderizers, seasoning salt, and most flavored vinegars
Drinks
  • Low-salt carbonated drinks
  • Tea and coffee in moderation
  • Soy milk
  • Softened water—having a water softener in your home may raise the amount of salt in your home's water

Calories and Activity

All the foods we eat have a unit of energy called calories. We must balance the calories we take in with the energy we burn. We burn energy through body functions, activities, and exercise. Weight gain happens if you eat more calories than your body uses. This is a problem because too much weight raises the risk of heart disease.

If you need to lose weight, track the calories in the food you eat. Compare those calories to the amount of calories that you burn. Make changes to balance calories and activity so that you can lose weight.

Follow Healthy Habits

Here are some healthy habits:

Know about:

When you make meals:

If you need help making these changes, talk to your doctor. A dietitian can teach you how to make changes.

RESOURCES:

Eat Right—Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
https://www.eatright.org

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Dietitians of Canada
https://www.dietitians.ca

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
http://www.heartandstroke.ca

REFERENCES:

Dietary considerations for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/prevention/dietary-considerations-for-cardiovascular-disease-risk-reduction. Accessed February 3, 2021.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2021.

Dong TA, Sandesara PB, et al. (2020). Intermittent Fasting: A Heart Healthy Dietary Pattern?. The American journal of medicine, 133(8), 901–907.

Finding a balance. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories. Accessed February 3, 2021.

Managing blood pressure with a heart-healthy diet. American Heart Association website. Available at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/PreventionTreatmentofHighBloodPressure/Managing-Blood-Pressure-with-a-Heart-Healthy-Diet_UCM_301879_Article.jsp#.Wr1D-i7wZQJ. Accessed February 3, 2021.

Shaking the salt habit to lower high blood pressure. American Heart Association website. Available at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/PreventionTreatmentofHighBloodPressure/Shaking-the-Salt-Habit_UCM_303241_Article.jsp#.Wr1ENy7wZQJ. Accessed February 3, 2021.

The skinny on fats. American Heart Association website. Available at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/PreventionTreatmentofHighCholesterol/Know-Your-Fats_UCM_305628_Article.jsp#.Wr1D0S7wZQJ. Accessed February 3, 2021.

Last reviewed December 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Dianne Scheinberg Rishikof MS, RD, LDN