What Is Considered a Heart-Healthy Diet?

You can prevent and control many risk factors for heart disease by considering good and bad fats.

Monounsaturated fats:

• They are found mainly in vegetable oils such as canola, olive and peanut oils.
• Eating foods high in monounsaturated fats can help lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, increase your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease.
• They are the best fats to have in your diet.

Polyunsaturated fats:

• They are found mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn, flaxseed and canola oils.
• Polyunsaturated fats are also the main fats found in seafood.
• Some polyunsaturated fats are essential and needed for the cell structure and making hormones. Essential fats must be obtained from the foods we choose.
• Eating polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated fats reduces LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol).

Saturated fats:

• They are found chiefly in animal foods such as meat and poultry, whole or 2 percent milk and butter.
• Some vegetable oils such as coconut, palm kernel oil and palm oil are highly saturated.
• Eating too many foods high in saturated fats can increase blood levels of your total and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
• High blood levels of LDL and total cholesterol increase your risk of heart disease.

Trans-fats:

• Trans-fats increase your risk of heart disease. There is no safe level of trans-fat intake.
• They are formed when vegetable oils are processed into margarine or shortening.
• Sources of trans-fats in your diet include snack foods and baked goods.
• Trans-fats also occur naturally in some animal foods such as dairy products.
• Trans-fats act like saturated fats and increase LDL cholesterol levels.
• They can also lower HDL (good) cholesterol in the blood.

Omega-3 (n-3 polyunsaturated) fatty acids:

• They are essential fats that your body needs to function properly but does not make.
• They can be obtained through foods, which means getting eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from seafood such as salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel or shellfish and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) from sources such as walnuts, flaxseed and canola and soybean oils.
• Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to benefit heart health.

The goals of a heart-healthy diet are to eat foods that help obtain or maintain healthy levels of cholesterol and blood pressure.

For a healthy heart, it is important to:

• Reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL; bad) cholesterol, which is harmful to the heart.
• Reduce other harmful lipids (fatty molecules) such as triglycerides.
• Increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL; good) cholesterol.
• Control blood pressure. (Blood pressure readings of 120/80 mmHg are considered normal; readings of 140/90 mmHg or higher indicate hypertension and require initiation of medications.)
• Maintain a healthy weight.

The foods you consume, along with regular exercise, can help achieve these goals.