Heart-Healthy Foods

You do not need expensive ingredients to eat well for your heart. Lentils, beans, oats, seasonal vegetables and anchovies can all fit into everyday meals. Consider what each food replaces: using olive oil instead of butter is a different change from adding extra oil to a meal.

The Heart-Healthy Foods List

The ideas below can help with shopping and cooking. They are meal suggestions, rather than a personal portion plan; amounts and ingredients may need adjusting for your health.

Fish

Anchovies, sardines, mackerel and salmon are oily fish options. Try baking or grilling fish instead of frying it, and serve it with vegetables.

Olive oil

Use it in place of sources of saturated fat, such as butter. Olive oil still provides energy, so pay attention to the amount you use.

Unsalted nuts

Walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts can be snack options. Plain nuts are a different choice from salted or sugar-coated varieties.

Oats and other whole grains

Try plain oats at breakfast, or bulgur and whole-grain bread with meals. A “multigrain” label alone does not establish that a product is whole grain; check the ingredients.

Beans and lentils

Add them to soups, salads or main meals. Adding sausage to a bean dish changes its salt and fat content.

Vegetables and fruit

Choose a seasonal variety. Blueberries and avocados are optional, rather than essential purchases. Choosing whole fruit over juice retains its fiber.

Plain, lower-fat dairy

If you eat dairy, unsweetened yogurt and lower-fat milk can fit into meals. Compare the salt content of cheeses as well as their fat content.

The food-group guidance follows recommendations from the AHA and NHLBI. Garlic, onion, lemon and herbs can add flavor to meals; they should not replace cholesterol or blood pressure medicines.

For a snack, try unsalted nuts or fruit. Plain yogurt with fruit is another option; there is no single best snack for everyone. If you dislike a vegetable, try another variety or a different cooking method. [17]

Why Do These Foods Help Your Heart?

Some dietary changes help manage LDL cholesterol and blood pressure. Finding a beneficial nutrient in a food does not establish that the food prevents or treats heart disease on its own. The types of fat, amount of salt and overall meal pattern all matter.

Omega-3: Eating Fish and Taking Supplements

Oily fish provide the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. The AHA recommends two servings of fish per week, defining a serving as 3 ounces of cooked fish, approximately 85 grams. Fish species and amounts need separate consideration during pregnancy, while breastfeeding and for children.

Eating fish and taking fish oil capsules are not interchangeable. Prescription omega-3 products and supplements have different uses; findings for one product cannot simply be applied to a normal serving of fish or every capsule. If you are considering a supplement, read about omega-3 products, EPA-DHA content and precautions, then discuss the product and dose with your clinician.

Olive Oil, Fiber and Cholesterol

Using olive oil instead of butter replaces a source of saturated fat. Oat beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber, also has evidence for lowering LDL cholesterol. EFSA's assessment in adults concerns at least 3 grams of oat beta-glucan per day. An unspecified bowl of oats cannot be assumed to provide that amount: the weight of oats and the product's beta-glucan content must be known. Whole grains do not all provide equivalent amounts of beta-glucan.

Heart-Healthy Eating: The Mediterranean and DASH Diets

A Mediterranean-style diet emphasizes vegetables, beans, whole grains, olive oil, nuts and fish. For ways to put the pattern into practice, see the Mediterranean diet guide.

DASH is particularly relevant to high blood pressure. It includes vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lower-fat dairy while addressing sodium intake. The DASH and high blood pressure diet guide explains food and salt choices. If you have kidney disease or take medicines that affect potassium, do not increase your intake without medical advice. The same caution applies to potassium-based salt substitutes. [6]

Foods That Are Bad for Your Heart: What to Limit

• Excess salt: Pickles, instant soups, chips, cheese and sauces can add sodium to meals. Compare labels for the same amount of similar products.
• Processed meat: Consider beans, fish or unprocessed meat in place of sausages and deli meats.
• Saturated fat: Pay attention to butter, cream and fatty cuts of meat. Changing the type of fat does not require increasing the total amount.
• Sugary drinks and frequent sweets: Replacing a daily sugary drink with water is a practical starting point. Consider both the portion and how often you have sweets.
• Industrial trans fat: “A little is fine” is not an appropriate message here. WHO recommends eliminating industrial trans fat from the food supply. Do not assume that all margarines or packaged products have the same composition. [7]

Processed foods are not all alike. Plain frozen vegetables and processed sausages are different choices. Instead of rejecting a food simply because it comes in a package, check its sodium, saturated fat and added sugars. [17]

Do not start drinking alcohol to protect your heart. Advice depends on your health, medicines and individual circumstances; some people need to avoid it entirely. [2]

Can One Food Clog Your Arteries?

No single food explains artery blockage on its own. In atherosclerosis, cholesterol and other substances gradually form plaque in artery walls. Plaque can narrow an artery; if it ruptures, a blood clot can block blood flow. [13]

High LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes contribute to risk, and inherited factors play a part. There is no universal answer to what harms the heart most. Reducing saturated fat and salt does not replace quitting smoking or receiving necessary treatment. [14]

Are Spicy Foods Bad for Your Heart?

Spiciness alone does not tell you whether a meal suits a heart-healthy diet; consider salt, fat and portion size too. Spicy foods can worsen reflux symptoms in some people. Do not diagnose chest pain after eating as reflux yourself. For new chest pressure, breathlessness or a cold sweat, call emergency services. [15] [12]

Heart-Healthy Drinks

Choose water in place of sugary drinks. Unsweetened tea and plain coffee can also be options, but coffee is not a heart treatment. If caffeine affects you, you experience palpitations or you take medicines, discuss your intake with your clinician. Cup sizes and brewing methods vary, so a universal number of cups is not suitable for everyone. [8]

Check the sodium content of mineral water and salted yogurt drinks such as ayran. If your heart failure team has set a fluid or salt limit, choose drinks within that plan. Drinking more because a drink seems “healthy” may be inappropriate. [9]

What Should People With Heart Disease Eat?

Nutrition is part of a heart disease care plan; it does not replace medicines or necessary medical treatment. Promising to repair damaged heart tissue with food is misleading. The heart disease nutrition guide discusses eating choices after a diagnosis.

After a heart attack, vegetables, whole grains, beans and suitable protein foods remain part of healthy eating. Adapt meals to your discharge plan, alongside medicine follow-up and recommended cardiac rehabilitation. [16]

• Heart failure: Your care team may ask you to limit salt or fluids. The same daily limit does not apply to everyone. [9]
• Grapefruit and medicines: Grapefruit can interact with some statins and other medicines. Ask your pharmacist about your particular product; statins should not all be treated alike. [10]
• Warfarin: You do not need to cut out leafy greens altogether. Keep your intake consistent and discuss major dietary changes with the team monitoring your treatment. [11]

Your medicines, kidney function, blood glucose and laboratory results should be considered together. For help adapting everyday meals, see the nutrition counseling service for high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Beyond Diet: Lifestyle and Treatment

Avoiding smoking, suitable regular activity, sufficient sleep and health checks belong alongside dietary changes. If you have heart disease, agree on the type and intensity of exercise with your care team. Do not stop prescribed medicines because your diet has improved.

Can Food Relieve Heart Symptoms?

Food choices support heart health over time. Do not try to relieve chest pain or new palpitations with food or drinks; the cause of the symptoms needs assessment.

Call emergency services for new chest pressure or pain, pain spreading to an arm or jaw, sudden shortness of breath or a cold sweat. If you suspect a heart attack, do not wait for symptoms to pass. [12]

Sources

1. AHA — Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations
2. NHLBI — Choose Heart-Healthy Foods
3. AHA — Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
4. NCCIH — Omega-3 Supplements
5. EFSA — Oat beta-glucan and blood cholesterol (2010)
6. AHA — A Primer on Potassium
7. WHO — Trans fat
8. AHA — Caffeine and Heart Disease
9. NHLBI — Living With Heart Failure
10. FDA — Grapefruit Juice and Some Drugs Don’t Mix
11. NHS — Warfarin
12. NHLBI — Heart Attack Symptoms
13. NHLBI — What Is Atherosclerosis?
14. NHLBI — Atherosclerosis Causes and Risk Factors
15. NIDDK — Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for GER & GERD
16. NHLBI — Heart Attack Recovery
17. AHA — Can Processed Foods Be Part of a Healthy Diet?