Eating for Heart Health - How Nutrition Affects Three Key Risk Factors

What you eat can help keep your heart beating strong - or lead to overweight, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol, three key factors that increase the risk of developing heart disease. (See the Box on page 5 for more on risk factors and heart disease.)

Here’s a brief look at why these three risk factors are so important:


1. Overweight and Obesity
Overweight and obesity pose major health risks. First, they
increase the risk of heart disease. Second, they make you more
likely to develop other factors that also increase that risk. For
instance, overweight and obesity increase your chance of developing
high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol (see following
sections), and diabetes—all major risk factors for heart disease.
So it’s important to stay at a healthy weight. There’s no
gimmick to achieving this goal. The amount of calories you take
in through your diet should not exceed the amount you expend
through body metabolism and physical activities. If you eat more
calories than you use up, you’ll gain weight. But, even a small
decrease in calories eaten can help keep you from gaining weight.
If you are overweight, losing just 10 percent of your current
weight helps to lower your risk of heart disease. If you can’t lose
extra weight just yet, then try not to gain more.
Here are a few tips to help you keep your weight in check:

● Watch out for portion size. It’s not just what you eat, but
how much (see page 8).
● Choose fewer high-fat foods. These often have more calories
than the same amount of other foods.

● But be careful of “lowfat” foods. They aren’t always low in
calories. Sometimes, extra sugars are added to lowfat items,
such as desserts. They can be just as high in calories as
regular versions.
● Be physically active—if you are, you’ve got a good chance
of keeping your calorie equation in balance.

2. High Blood Pressure
Also called hypertension, this condition puts you at risk for
heart disease and stroke. Diet plays a big role in your chance of
developing high blood pressure. Following an eating plan low in
saturated fat and cholesterol, and moderate in total fat is important
for heart health generally and may help prevent or control high
blood pressure. A key ingredient of this plan should be reducing
your intake of salt (sodium chloride) and other forms of sodium.
Only small amounts of salt occur naturally in foods. Instead,
most of the salt Americans consume is added during food processing,
in preparation at home, or in a restaurant. By cutting back on
salt, you’ll probably lessen your taste for it over time.
Try to consume no more than 6 grams (about 1 teaspoon) of
table salt a day. That equals 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams) of sodium
a day. Studies such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
trial, or DASH, show that persons with or at an increased risk of
developing high blood pressure can help control or prevent the condition
by further reducing table salt—to 4 grams (or 2/3 teaspoon) a
day. That equals 1.5 grams (1,500 milligrams) of sodium a day.
Both totals include ALL salt and sodium consumed—that used in
cooking and at the table, as well as in prepared foods.

3. High Blood Cholesterol
Fat and cholesterol in the diet can raise the level of cholesterol
in the blood—and that can lead to atherosclerosis, a type of “hardening
of the arteries.” In atherosclerosis, cholesterol, fat, and other substances build up in artery walls. As the process continues, arteries,
including those to the heart, may narrow, reducing blood flow.
Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol more than anything else in
the diet. See page 19 for more about fat.
Help reduce your fat intake by looking for lowfat or fat free
dairy products and other fat free items—but, again, keep an eye on
the products’ calorie content so you don’t gain weight.
Some foods can actually help to lower blood cholesterol. This
includes foods with soluble (also called viscous) fiber. Soluble fiber
is found in cereal grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes (which
include beans, peas, and lentils). See page 18 for more on fiber.
Other food products also help lower blood cholesterol: These
products contain plant stanols or plant sterols. These include
cholesterol-lowering margarines. Plant stanols and sterols are
noted on product food labels.