Eat your way to a healthier heart

Try a hearty diet

A healthy heart is essential for healthy living. Every day your heart beats about 100,000 times, feeding your body’s tissues with nutrient-rich blood and removing unwanted carbon dioxide and other waste products. So it makes sense to take good care of your heart by following a healthy lifestyle and eating a well-balanced diet that’s low in sugar and saturated fats. Looking after your heart-health helps you to stay in shape and minimise your chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Here is a quick guide to help you choose the best heart-friendly foods:

Meat and fish

Try and stick to leaner cuts of meat and avoid fat-rich meat products. Fish is a good choice but steer clear if deep-fried or served with creamy, buttery or cheesy sauces.

Healthier options

Lean meat (chicken, turkey, pork, ham, lamb, beef, venison, veal or game) grilled or roasted without fat, casseroled or stir-fried. Avoid eating chicken or turkey skin
Minced meat (turkey or extra-lean beef)
Liver and kidney
Lean bacon or low-fat sausages (occasionally)
Meat substitutes (eg soya mince, tofu, Quorn)
Vegetarian sausages or beanburgers (check fat content)
Fresh fish (white or oily) grilled, steamed baked, poached or fried in small amounts of oil. Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout) are high in omega-3 fatty acids that reduce cholesterol
Shellfish (frozen of fresh) cooked with small amounts of oil
Canned fish (in water and occasionally in brine or oil)

Not so healthy

Fatty meats like belly pork, breast of lamb, duck or goose. Processed meats like sausages, frankfurters, burgers, meatballs and faggots and streaky bacon
Meat pies, pâtés, pasties, sausage rolls and pork pies
Duck and goose meat
Poultry skin
Chicken nuggets and chicken kiev
Fish deep-fried in batter or breadcrumbs
Fish served in butter or rich sauces (eg hollandaise, seafood cocktail or cheese sauces)

Dairy and eggs

Avoid high-fat or full-fat products wherever you can and choose low-fat alternatives. Double-check labels carefully, as foods labelled ‘reduced fat’, ‘lower fat’ or ‘light’ may still contain relatively high amounts of fat or sugar.

Healthier options

Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk
Soya milk
Lower fat cheeses such as cottage cheese, light soft cheese, quark, ricotta, half-fat Edam
Half-fat cheeses and strong-flavoured cheeses such as parmesan or mature cheddar in small amounts (occasionally)
Low-fat or diet yoghurts and fromage frais. 0% fat Greek yoghurt, soya yoghurts
Boiled or poached eggs
Eggs or omelettes fried in small amounts of vegetable oil

Not so healthy

Full-fat milk or milk with extra cream
Evaporated or condensed milk
Cream (single, double, clotted, whipping or soured)
Greek yoghurt, crème fraiche
Full-fat hard cheeses (eg Stilton, cheddar, mascarpone)
Soft cheeses (eg Brie, Camembert, goat’s cheese, cream cheese)
Fried Paneer
Eggs fried in lard or scrambled with butter
Omelettes cooked in butter
Egg-based products such as flans, quiches and scotch eggs

Fruit, veg and nuts

Fruit and vegetables are an excellent source of essential vitamins, fibre and nutrients. Foods such as beans, legumes, prunes, apples, pears, nuts and avocados are also great for boosting heart-protecting HDL (good cholesterol).

Healthier options

Fresh, dried or frozen fruit
Fruit juices
Canned fruit (in natural juice)
Vegetables either raw, boiled, steamed microwaved, grilled or dry-fried
Stir-fried or roasted veg (using a small quantity of sunflower, rapeseed or olive oil)
Home-made vegetable soup
Vegetable juices
Nuts (in small amounts)
Seeds (eg pumpkin, linseed, sesame, sunflower)
Canned or dried beans, peas or lentils
Low-sugar, low-salt baked beans

Not so healthy

Deep-fried vegetables
Vegetables served with butter or creamy sauces
Salads with heavy dressings such as potato salad or coleslaw
Fruit fritters
Fruit canned in sugary syrup
Nuts roasted in oil and salt
Creamed coconut and coconut milk
Peanut butter
Indian dhal containing clarified butter
High-fat vegetarian burgers

Bread, pasta, potatoes and rice

These starchy foods give us energy and add all-important fibre and B vitamins to our diet. Avoid fatty pasta sauces, overdoing unhealthy spreads and using too much fat when cooking potatoes.

Healthier options

Bread (preferably wholegrain) or toast with a thin layer of butter (or alternative spread)
Low-fat spreads or those containing polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats
Fat-free chapatis
Wholegrain breakfast cereals, muesli (no sugar added), porridge or oats served with skimmed or semi-skimmed milk
Sugar-coated cereals (occasionally)
Pasta, rice or noodles boiled and served with tomato or vegetable-based sauces
Potatoes boiled, baked or dry roasted (also sweet potatoes, yams or plantains)
Mashed potato (with a little oil or skimmed/semi-skimmed milk added)
Thick-cut, reduced-fat oven chips
Roast potatoes cooked in small amounts of sunflower, rapeseed or olive oil

Not so healthy

Bread or toast thickly spread with butter
Garlic bread (except homemade with low-fat spread)
Peshwari or paratha breads made with ghee
Pasta served with butter or creamy, cheese-based sauces
Fried rice
Roast potatoes cooked in lard, dripping or large amounts of oil
Potatoes with cheese sauce
Mashed potatoes with butter or cream
Deep-fried, thin-cut chips

Foods high in fat or sugar

Many of the foods we consume everyday are very high in sugar or fat. These include fat spreads, some oils, salad dressings, sauces, cakes, biscuits, sweets and savoury snacks. Stay healthier by rationing your intake or switching to more heart-friendly alternatives.

Healthier options

Lower fat spreads and margarines made with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats (eg olive, rapeseed or sunflower oil)
Polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils (eg olive, rapeseed, sunflower, soya or corn) in small quantities
Low-fat salad dressings
Low-fat mayonnaise and salad cream
Dressings based on low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais
Sugar-free jellies
Milk puddings (semi-skimmed milk)
Sorbets
Plain or lower fat biscuits (occasionally)
Fat-free sponge, fruit buns, teacakes or malt loaf (occasionally)
Meringues without cream (occasionally)
Low-fat crisps and dips (occasionally)