Examine What You Eat

Your best defense against illness and disease is to examine what you eat and make sure it’s healthy. Take a look at your diet. By comparing your eating habits with what the experts advise, you'll have a better idea of how to make changes that will benefit your heart.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has developed dietary and lifestyle recommendations to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. These guidelines are intended for the general public and provide guidance for adults and children over age two. Rather than focusing on a single food or nutrient, the AHA puts the emphasis on your overall diet.

  • Balance calorie intake and physical activity to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight.
  • Consume a diet rich in vegetables and fruits.
  • Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods.
  • Consume fish, especially oily fish, at least twice a week.
  • Limit your intake of saturated fat to less than 7 percent of energy, trans fat to less than 1 percent, and cholesterol to less than 300 mg per day by choosing lean meats and vegetable alternatives; selecting fat-free (skim), 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products; and minimizing intake of partially hydrogenated fats.
  • Minimize your intake of beverages and foods with added sugars.
  • Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.
  • If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation.
  • When you eat food that is prepared outside of the home, try to follow these recommendations.
The next page has a simple checklist to help you determine what your current diet looks like.

For more information about losing weight, see:
  • Eating Healthy: Developing good eating habits is as much about making lifestyle changes as it is learning about food. Get started on the road to better eating.
  • Healthy Meals: Once you know which foods are healthy for you, you can arrange them into entire meals. Get some suggestions on how to eat healthy all day long.
  • Benefits of Exercise: Regular physical activity can help you with everything from keeping weight off to preventing heart disease. Find out how to improve and extend your life through exercise.
  • Weight Loss: To stay healthy, you should take off weight gradually. Learn about the medical ramifications of weight loss.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.