Patient education: Heart-healthy diet (The Basics)

Why do I need a heart-healthy diet? — When you eat a heart-healthy diet, you lower your risk of getting heart disease or having a stroke. You might also lower your blood pressure.

A heart-healthy diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It's important to get plenty of fiber. Eating a heart-healthy diet also means limiting salt (also called "sodium"), cholesterol, and unhealthy fats.

A healthy diet also provides the right amount of calories for you. Just eating healthy foods might not help control your weight if you eat too many calories. If you have excess body weight, your doctor or nurse will recommend that you lose weight. They can work with you to do this in a healthy way.

What can I eat and drink on a heart-healthy diet? — Choose healthy foods (figure 1). The specific amount of each food type that you should eat depends on your age, weight, and sex. But your eating "pattern," or the types of foods in your diet, are also important.

Some examples:

●Grains – Try to eat 6 to 8 servings of whole-grain, high-fiber foods each day. These include whole-grain breads, cereals, brown rice, and pasta.

●Fruits and vegetables – Try to eat 4 to 5 servings each day. Eat many kinds and colors of fruits and vegetables. If possible, eat fresh fruits and vegetables. If that is not possible, eat frozen ones. If you only have access to canned fruits or vegetables, check the labels and look for products without added salt or sugar.

●Dairy – Try to have 3 to 4 servings each day. Choose low-fat (1 percent) or fat-free milk and other dairy products.

●Protein – Try to eat low-fat or lean meats that are baked or broiled, like chicken and turkey without the skin. Eat less red meat, and avoid processed meat such as pre-packaged sausage and hot dogs. Eat more fish, egg whites, and beans instead. Try to eat oily fish at least 2 times a week, such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel. Dried peas, beans, and lentils are also high in protein and fiber.

●Fats – There are different types of fats. Some types are better for your body than others. "Healthy" fats are monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. These are found in things like olive oil, canola oil, and sesame oil. They are also found in nuts, seeds, avocados, and nut butters.

●Salt and condiments – Use low-sodium or salt-free broths, soups, soy sauce, and condiments. To add flavor, use pepper, herbs, spices, vinegar, and lemon or lime juices for seasoning. Limit your total salt intake to no more than 2300 mg per day. This is the same as about 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of table salt. Use little or no added salt when making food. If you use sugar, honey, syrup, or jam, limit these to small amounts.

●Sweets – A heart-healthy diet generally involves limiting sugar and sweets. When you eat sweets, choose low-fat products with no trans fats. Sweet fruits are also a good choice.

What foods and drinks should I avoid on a heart-healthy diet? — It's also important to avoid or limit certain foods and other products. This can be hard, especially if you are used to eating a lot of these things. Even cutting back on some of these things can help your health.

Some examples:

●Grains to avoid – These include salted breads, rolls, crackers, quick breads, self-rising flours, biscuit mixes, regular breadcrumbs, instant hot cereals, commercially prepared rice, pasta, and stuffing mixes.

●Fruits and vegetables to avoid – These include prepackaged potatoes and vegetable mixes, regular canned vegetables and juices, vegetables frozen with sauce, pickled vegetables, and processed fruits with added sugar or salt.

●Dairy products to avoid – These include whole-milk products, including malted milk, chocolate milk, and buttermilk.

●Meat products to avoid – These include smoked, cured, salted, or canned meat, fish, or poultry. Bacon and sausages are examples.

●Fats to avoid – These include the "unhealthy" fats, which are saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats are animal fats. Trans fats are artificially made fats, such as partially hydrogenated oils. These kinds of fats raise your cholesterol. Unhealthy fats are found in meats, egg yolks, butter, cheese, and full-fat milk products. They are also found in some fried foods, butter, margarine, and baked goods like cookies or cakes.

●Condiments and snacks to avoid – These include salted and canned peas, beans, and olives, as well as salted snack foods, fried foods, and commercially softened water. Miso, salsa, ketchup, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and teriyaki sauce are also high in salt.

●Sweets to avoid – These include baked goods that are high in fat, such as muffins, donuts, pastries, and particularly prepackaged bakery products. Avoid products with artificial sweeteners. These are in many "diet" items. Limit fruit juices, and avoid soda and other sweetened drinks.

●Alcohol – The healthiest thing is to avoid drinking alcohol completely. Most doctors recommend that if you are going to drink alcohol, limit the amount to:

•For females, no more than 1 drink a day

•For males, no more than 2 drinks a day

What else should I know? — Your doctor or nurse will tell you if there are other guidelines you should follow. They might suggest working with a dietitian (food expert) if you need help changing your diet.

Some other tips:

●When you go to a grocery store, bring a shopping list or a meal plan with you. Try not to not shop when you are hungry, since this might make you more likely to buy unhealthy foods.

●Read food labels with care (figure 2). This way, you will know how much sodium and fat are in a product. The labels show you how much of each is in a serving, and how many servings are in a package.

●Avoid eating at fast food restaurants. If you do eat fast food, try to make healthy choices like fruit or salad instead of fries.

●Watch your portions at home and when eating out. When eating out, split an order with someone, or bring home half to eat later for another meal.

More on this topic

Patient education: Diet and health (The Basics)
Patient education: Controlling your blood pressure through lifestyle (The Basics)
Patient education: Living with coronary artery disease (The Basics)

Patient education: Diet and health (Beyond the Basics)