Heart-healthy foods include vegetables, fish, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. Learn how to choose the right foods to protect your heart every day!
What makes a food good for heart health?
Heart-healthy foods are not simply individual foods that are considered “good” for the heart. More importantly, they are foods that fit into a balanced dietary pattern, providing fiber, vitamins, minerals, plant compounds, and healthy unsaturated fats while limiting sodium, added sugars, saturated fat, and highly processed foods.
A heart-friendly diet should prioritize vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, healthy sources of protein, and unsaturated fats. Choosing minimally processed foods and limiting foods high in salt, added sugar, and unhealthy fats can help support cardiovascular health.
10 heart-healthy foods you should include in your diet
1. Fatty fish
Salmon, sardines, mackerel, and other fatty fish provide omega-3 fatty acids and high-quality protein. Including fish in a balanced diet can be a useful way to replace foods higher in saturated fat.
2. Leafy green vegetables
Spinach, kale, bok choy, and other leafy greens provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds. Adding vegetables to daily meals is an important part of a heart-healthy eating pattern.
3. Berries
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and other berries provide fiber and various plant compounds. They can be added to breakfast, yogurt, oatmeal, or eaten as a snack.
4. Avocados
Avocados provide unsaturated fats, fiber, and several vitamins and minerals. They can be used as part of meals instead of foods that are higher in saturated fat.
5. Nuts
Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and other unsalted nuts provide unsaturated fats, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Because they are energy-dense, appropriate portions are important.
6. Legumes
Beans, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes are good sources of plant protein and fiber. They can be used to replace some higher-fat animal protein sources in meals.
7. Whole grains
Oats, brown rice, whole-wheat bread, barley, and other whole grains contain more fiber and nutrients than refined grains. Choosing whole grains more often can contribute to a healthier overall dietary pattern.
8. Oils rich in unsaturated fats
Plant oils such as olive oil and other oils rich in unsaturated fats can be used in place of fats higher in saturated fat. The overall amount consumed should still be appropriate for individual energy needs.
9. Fresh fruits
Apples, oranges, bananas, guava, and other whole fruits provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and naturally occurring sugars. Whole fruit is generally preferable to fruit drinks or products with added sugar.
10. Appropriate amounts of dairy products
Milk, yogurt, and other dairy products can provide protein and calcium. Depending on individual nutritional needs, choosing options lower in saturated fat and added sugar may be appropriate.
How should you combine heart-healthy foods?
Rather than focusing on one “superfood,” it is more useful to build an overall eating pattern that includes a variety of foods.
A simple approach is to:
- Fill a large portion of the meal with vegetables.
- Include whole grains or other high-fiber carbohydrate sources.
- Choose fish, legumes, nuts, or other healthy protein sources regularly.
- Prefer unsaturated fats over foods high in saturated fat.
- Choose whole fruit instead of sugary drinks or highly processed snacks.
- Limit foods that contain large amounts of sodium, added sugar, and unhealthy fats.
Cooking methods also matter. Steaming, boiling, baking, grilling, or lightly stir-frying can help reduce the need for large amounts of added fat and salt compared with deep-frying or heavily processed preparations.
Read more: Causes of Heart Disease: Key Risk Factors to Know
How much salt is appropriate for heart health?
Excessive sodium intake can contribute to higher blood pressure and increase cardiovascular risk. The World Health Organization recommends that adults consume less than 2 grams of sodium per day, equivalent to less than 5 grams of salt per day.
In practice, reducing salty sauces, processed foods, instant foods, cured foods, and heavily salted snacks can help lower daily sodium intake.
Are heart-healthy foods enough to prevent heart disease?
A healthy diet is an important part of cardiovascular disease prevention, but it is not the only factor. Physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, getting adequate sleep, managing blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol, and having appropriate health checkups also play important roles.
For people who already have cardiovascular disease or other medical conditions, dietary choices should be adapted to their specific health status and treatment plan. Food should not be considered a replacement for prescribed medication or medical care.
Who should pay more attention to heart-healthy eating?
Everyone can benefit from a balanced, heart-friendly diet. However, people with high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipids, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, or a strong family history of cardiovascular disease may need to pay particular attention to their overall dietary pattern and other risk factors.
If you have an existing medical condition, consult a healthcare professional for individualized dietary advice rather than making major dietary changes based solely on general information.
Frequently asked questions about heart-healthy foods
What foods are good for the heart?
Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish, and foods rich in unsaturated fats are commonly included in heart-healthy dietary patterns.
Are nuts good for the heart?
Yes. Unsalted nuts can provide unsaturated fats, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. However, they are calorie-dense, so portion size still matters.
Is eating fish good for the heart?
Fish, particularly fatty fish, can be part of a heart-healthy diet. It can also serve as an alternative to foods higher in saturated fat.
Should people with cardiovascular disease follow a different diet?
People with cardiovascular disease may have specific dietary needs depending on their condition, medications, blood pressure, kidney function, blood glucose, and other factors. Individualized advice from a healthcare professional is therefore important.
Heart-healthy eating is not about relying on a single food. A balanced dietary pattern built around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, fish, nuts, and healthy unsaturated fats can support cardiovascular health when combined with appropriate lifestyle habits.
Choosing less processed foods and limiting excess salt, added sugar, saturated fat, and unhealthy fats is a practical way to improve everyday food choices.
Protect your heart every day by making informed and balanced food choices.
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