A healthy diet that is low in sodium and saturated fat is key to heart disease prevention.
Some tips include:
- Eating vegetables, fruits and whole grains
- Eating fish, poultry, beans, nuts, vegetable oils, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products
- Limiting foods that are high in saturates fat and sodium
- Limiting sugar and other sweeteners
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan was put together to help lower high blood pressure. It requires no special foods and provides daily and weekly nutritional goals.
To make it easier to follow the DASH for life, these tips can help:
- Change gradually. Add one more serving of vegetables a day. Read nutrition labels to choose the food lowest in saturated fat, sodium or salt and added sugar.
- Vary foods high in proteins. Try a mix of lean cuts of meat. Remove the skin from chicken. Eat fish once or twice a week. Eat two or more meals without meat each week.
- Select healthy, tasty snacks. Have a piece of fruit, a few unsalted snacks such as rice cakes, fat-free or low-fat yogurt or raw vegetables with a low-fat dip.
- Find substitutes. Try whole-wheat bread or brown rice instead of white bread or white rice. Try beans or seeds such as flax or sunflower seeds, if you’re allergic to nuts.
Check out some DASH heart-healthy recipes from the Mayo Clinic here.
