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Heart-healthy diet - Highlights

Description

An in-depth report on how to build the best diet for your heart's health.

Alternative Names

Diet - heart health

Highlights:

Heart-Healthy Diet Guidelines

Key recommendations for a heart-healthy diet include:

Eat a balanced diet with plenty of high-fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Reduce consumption of high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods and beverages.
Eat fish, especially oily fish (such as salmon, trout, and mackerel), at least twice a week. Oily fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower the risk of death from heart disease.
Get at least 5 - 10% of daily calories from omega-6 fatty acids, which are found in vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, corn, and soybean as well as nuts and seeds.
Choose fat-free or low-fat dairy products.
Limit daily consumption of foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as red meat, shellfish, and egg yolks.
Limit consumption of trans fatty acids (found in fast foods and commercially baked products) to less than 1% of total daily calories.
Replace saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats from plant and fish oils.
Restrict your salt intake. Try to limit sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (1 teaspoon) of salt a day. Middle-aged and older people should aim for 1,500 milligrams or fewer of sodium a day, as should people with high blood pressure.
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation (1 drink per day for women, 2 drinks per day for men).
Exercise regularly (at least 30 minutes a day) so that you burn as many calories as you consume to maintain a healthy weight.

Resources

www.nhlbi.nih.gov -- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
www.eatright.org -- American Dietetic Association
www.americanheart.org -- American Heart Association
www.acc.org -- American College of Cardiology
http://fnic.nal.usda.gov -- Food and Nutrition Information Center

References

American Heart Association Nutrition Committee; Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Brands M, Carnethon M, Daniels S, et al. Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. Circulation. 2006 Jul 4;114(1):82-96.

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Bryson CL, Mukamal KJ, Mittleman MA, Fried LP, Hirsch CH, Kitzman DW, et al. The association of alcohol consumption and incident heart failure: the Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Jul 18;48(2):305-11.

Cook NR, Albert CM, Gaziano JM, Zaharris E, MacFadyen J, Danielson E, et al. A randomized factorial trial of vitamins C and E and beta carotene in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in women: results from the Women's Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Aug 13-27;167(15):1610-8.

Dickinson HO, Nicolson DJ, Campbell F, Cook JV, Beyer FR, Ford GA, et al. Magnesium supplementation for the management of essential hypertension in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Jul 19;3:CD004640.

Fung TT, Chiuve SE, McCullough ML, Rexrode KM, Logroscino G, Hu FB. Adherence to a DASH-style diet and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke in women. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Apr 14;168(7):713-20.

Gardner CD, Kiazand A, Alhassan S, Kim S, Stafford RS, Balise RR, et al. Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2007 Mar 7;297(9):969-77.

Gidding SS, Lichtenstein AH, Faith MS, Karpyn A, Mennella JA, Popkin B, Rowe J, Van Horn L, Whitsel L. Implementing American Heart Association pediatric and adult nutrition guidelines: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee of the council on nutrition, physical activity and metabolism, council on cardiovascular disease in the young, council on arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology, council on cardiovascular nursing, council on epidemiology and prevention, and council for high blood pressure research. Circulation. 2009 Mar 3;119(8):1161-75.

GISSI-HF Investigators, Tavazzi L, Maggioni AP, Marchioli R, Barlera S, Franzosi MG, et al. Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2008 Oct 4;372(9645):1223-30. Epub 2008 Aug 29.

Halton TL, Willett WC, Liu S, Manson JE, Albert CM, Rexrode K, et al. Low-carbohydrate-diet score and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 2006 Nov 9;355(19):1991-2002.

Harris WS, Mozaffarian D, Rimm E, Kris-Etherton P, Rudel LL, Appel LJ, Engler MM,Engler MB, Sacks F. Omega-6 fatty acids and risk for cardiovascular disease: a science advisory from the American Heart Association Nutrition Subcommittee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation. 2009 Feb 17;119(6):902-7. Epub 2009 Jan 26.

Horvath K, Jeitler K, Siering U, Stich AK, Skipka G, Gratzer TW, Siebenhofer A. Long-term effects of weight-reducing interventions in hypertensive patients: systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Mar 24;168(6):571-80.

Krauss RM. Nutrition and cardiovascular disease. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Libby: Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Saunders;2007:chap 44.

Kuriyama S, Shimazu T, Ohmori K, Kikuchi N, Nakaya N, Nishino Y, et al. Green tea consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in Japan: the Ohsaki study. JAMA. 2006 Sep 13;296(10):1255-65.

Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al. Coffee consumption and coronary heart disease in men and women: a prospective cohort study. Circulation. 2006 May 2;113(17):2045-53.

McMillan-Price J, Petocz P, Atkinson F, O'Neill K, Samman S, Steinbeck K,et al. Comparison of 4 diets of varying glycemic load on weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction in overweight and obese young adults: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jul 24;166(14):1466-75.

Mosca L, Banka CL, Benjamin EJ, Berra K, Bushnell C, Dolor RJ, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention in women: 2007 update. Circulation. 2007 Mar 20;115(11):1481-501.

Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB. Fish intake, contaminants, and human health: evaluating the risks and the benefits. JAMA. 2006 Oct 18;296(15):1885-99.

Mukamal KJ, Chiuve SE, Rimm EB. Alcohol consumption and risk for coronary heart disease in men with healthy lifestyles. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Oct 23;166(19):2145-50.

Sesso HD, Buring JE, Christen WG, Kurth T, Belanger C, MacFadyen J, et al. Vitamins E and C in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in men: the Physicians' Health Study II randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2008 Nov 12;300(18):2123-33. Epub 2008 Nov 9.

Shai I, Schwarzfuchs D, Henkin Y, Shahar DR, Witkow S, Greenberg I, et al. Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. N Engl J Med. 2008 Jul 17;359(3):229-41.

Slavin JL. Position of the American Dietetic Association: health implications of dietary fiber. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Oct;108(10):1716-31.

Sofi F, Cesari F, Abbate R, Gensini GF, Casini A. Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis. BMJ. 2008 Sep 11;337:a1344. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a1344.

Reviewed last on: 5/5/2009
Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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