While there is no one single "heart" diet recommended by cardiologists, there is a way of eating that doctors recommend for heart health. Generally, this means eating a diet that is low in fat and sodium and high in fiber.
Significance
Changing to a heart-healthy diet helps to reduce three of the biggest causes of heart disease, writes the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. These are high cholesterol, obesity and high blood pressure. DHMC recommends that you eat five servings of vegetables and fruits and at least six servings of whole-grain foods per day. Eat more low-fat or fat-free dairy products, lean meats, poultry without the skin, beans and fish. Limit your intake of unhealthy fats, restricting your daily intake to less than 2g of saturated fat per tbsp. Buy canola oil, olive oil, liquid and tub margarine, rather than butter. Eat fewer than 6g of salt or 2,400mg of sodium in one day--sodium contributes to high blood pressure. Limit your consumption of alcohol to no more than one drink a day for women and two a day for men.
Features
Heart-healthy foods include fish, olive oil, nuts, vegetables and whole grains. While the American Heart Association does not endorse specific dietary plans, the foods recommended make up the Mediterranean diet, according to MSNBC Heart Health.
MSNBC Heart Health quoted Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, as saying that a healthy diet is more about your total diet rather than about one unhealthy item you recently ate.
Considerations
Your doctor should give you specific dietary recommendations for your heart-healthy diet, but, in general, cardiologists recommend that you follow a diet low in saturated fats, sodium and cholesterol. Your doctor should also specify eating fruits and vegetables, both fresh and frozen, as well as whole-grain foods, writes the Cleveland Clinic. Ask your doctor about refined grain foods, which actually contribute to heart disease, according to MSNBC Heart Health.
Effects
Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine all state that a diet consisting of lean proteins, low-fat or non-fat dairy, whole-grain products, and fruits and vegetables contributes to good cardiovascular health, according to MSNBC Heart Health.
Benefits
Eating foods low in saturated fats and increasing your consumption of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains provides a protective benefit for your heart and cardiovascular system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
While diet is a large part of good cardiovascular health, regular exercise and stress management help ensure good health. If you smoke, quitting helps improve your heart and lung health as well.
