Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. People of most racial and ethnic groups in the country are more likely to die from a heart-related issue than anything else.
These statistics are staggering, and if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed when researching what you can do to improve your heart health, you’re not alone. The good news? You don’t have to exercise for three hours a day and eat a diet entirely of fish and plant-based foods to keep your heart healthy. A few simple tweaks can go a long way.
Must Read: Eliminating These 3 Foods From Your Diet Can Be A Game Changer For Heart Health
One of the easiest things you can do is to eliminate (or strictly limit) certain foods that are especially hard on your heart. Here, cardiologists and a nutritionist discuss three foods you should consider cutting out of your diet ASAP, and what to eat instead.
Bacon
Sorry, bacon fans, but all the experts we consulted agreed: If you want to take good care of your heart, you should save bacon for special occasions or eliminate it from your diet entirely.
“The way bacon is made can lead to negative effects on heart health,” said Michelle Routhenstein, a preventive cardiology dietitian-nutritionist.
“The process of curing bacon with sodium nitrite and its high sodium content can raise blood pressure, while the compounds formed during cooking, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines (HCAs), contribute to inflammation and damage to blood vessels, and collectively increase the risk of heart disease.”
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While bacon is the biggest culprit, Dr. Saman Setareh-Shenas, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai, said anyone who is eating with heart health in mind should be wary of processed meat in general, as well as red meat. (Although often considered white meat by culinary standards, pork is classified by the Cleveland Clinic, Diabetes UK and other entities as red meat.)
“People who eat diets rich in red meat, especially those with highly processed meat, have been associated with a higher incidence and mortality of cardiovascular disease, and obesity,” said Setareh-Shenas. “Ingredients used to make this food include sodium and nitrites. Bacon is especially high in salt, saturated fat, cholesterol, heme iron, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic amines.”
Hint: All three foods are shown in this photo. Tom_Young67 via Getty Images
White Bread
White bread — think Wonder Bread products, or similar white bread you might find in a bag at the grocery store — it can be very bad for your heart, according to Routhenstein.
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“White bread, with its high glycemic index and lack of nutrients and fiber compared to whole grain options, can lead to rapid blood sugar spikes, insulin resistance and weight gain, all of which increase the risk of heart disease and related complications,” she said.
Dr. Daniel Luger, preventive cardiologist in Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, he repeated this.
“All refined carbohydrates increase your circulating levels of glucose and triglycerides,” he said. “White bread is stripped of all the fiber and healthy nutrients. What’s left is pure sugar.”
If you’re wondering if the baguettes made in the bakery department of your grocery store are healthier than a bag of white Wonder Bread, you can take some cues from the ingredients label. Luger suggested looking for a “100% whole-grain” stamp on the package, as well as carefully reading the list of ingredients.
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“When you look at the ingredients list, you want to see that the first ingredient is listed as whole (whole wheat, whole wheat, etc.),” he said. “Ideally, when you look at the ingredients list you want to see only a small number of ingredients, and be able to recognize what those ingredients are.”
French fries
In especially devastating news, french fries aren’t doing your heart any favors.
“When food is fried, its nutritional content changes – the food loses water and gains fat,” explained Setareh-Shenas. “Especially in the case of fries, the oil is often reused, which leads to a loss of unsaturated fats and an increase in trans fats.. FRench fries are also loaded with salt, and high sodium intake has been associated with high blood pressure and increased heart disease.”
Regular consumption of fried foods in general, he added, has been linked to an increase in coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity.
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What Should You Eat Instead?
You know what you shouldn’t be eating. But which foods can improve heart health?
“I recommend a lot more consumption of legumes like lentils, chickpeas and beans,” Luger said. “Legumes are high in healthy fiber and help promote satiety, regulate bowel movements and feed healthy gut bacteria. Plus, legumes can easily be made in bulk and are great for weeknight meals.”
If you’re able to squeeze flax and almonds into your diet, Routhenstein recommended doing so.
“These foods contain lignans, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that support heart health by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation,” she said. “These compounds, together with other nutrients such as vitamin E, alpha-linolenic acid and magnesium, contribute to improved cholesterol levels, blood pressure regulation and vascular health, and collectively offer cardioprotective benefits.”
When it comes to grains,choice of the good ones is essential, according to Routhenstein.
“Quinoa and whole wheat bread are heart-healthy choices because of their rich nutritional profile, including fiber, phosphorus, zinc, plant-based proteins and antioxidants, which collectively lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease,” she said. “Theirs high fiber content regulates blood sugar levels and supports a healthy gut, contributing to overall heart health.”
Keeping your heart healthy is a lifelong journey, and diet is only part of the picture. Routhenstein, Luger and Setareh-Shenas all emphasized the importance of regular exercise and avoiding habits such as smoking. But skipping bacon, white bread and fries whenever possible is a great place to start.
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