Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but it is preventable in many cases. A heart-healthy diet is a significant factor in preventing this killer, along with regular exercise, not smoking, managing stress, controlling blood pressure and maintaining a healthy weight.
Avoid Trans Fats
Trans fats are especially damaging to heart health. Trans fats are cheap, industrially made fats that are added to a wide variety of foods to improve taste and texture. French fries, fried chicken and other fried foods, chips, crackers, margarine, cake, doughnuts, pastries and frozen foods are some of the worst trans-fats culprits. Avoid restaurants that cook with trans fats. Read food labels to watch for hydrogenated vegetable oil -- the common name for these harmful fats. Manufacturers can claim a product is trans-fat free if it contains 0.5 g or less, but even small amounts can add up and push you over the recommended limit of 1 percent of your calories per day, which is just 2 g for a 2000-calorie diet.
Pass Up Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are converted to cholesterol in the body, which causes heart disease. Foods that contain saturated fats include milk, cheese and other dairy products, red meat, fatty meats, butter and tropical oils such as coconut and palm kernel. To reduce the saturated fat in your diet, choose skinless, white-meat poultry; lean meats trimmed of all visible fat; trans-fat-free margarine in place of butter; and fat-free or 1-percent-fat dairy products. Limit saturated fat to 7 percent of your daily calories, says the American Heart Association. That equals 14 g per day for a 2000-calorie diet.
Eat Healthy Fats
Include heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet every day. Unsaturated fats from olive and canola oils, nuts, seeds, avocado, olives and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and sardines lower harmful low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increase heart-protective high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, leading to a reduced risk of heart disease. Eat 1 oz. of almonds or hazelnuts, dress your salad with olive oil, add avocado slices to sandwiches and eat fish twice per week to get healthy fats into your diet.
Skip Refined Grains and Added Sugar
Skip sugary soft drinks, foods with added sugar and foods made from refined grains -- such as sweets, many processed breakfast cereals, white bread, doughnuts and white rice, which act just like sugar in the body. Sugar and refined grains have an adverse effect on blood sugar and insulin levels, paving the way for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
Choose Whole Grains
Whole grains help keep your heart healthy, because they are high in nutrients and fiber that keep blood sugar and insulin levels stable. Eat whole-grain foods such as steel-cut or rolled oats, barley, brown rice, bulgur or millet. Choose foods made from whole grains, including whole-wheat bread and pasta and whole-grain breakfast cereals. Whole grain will be the first ingredient listed for a product that is truly whole grain.
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