Top 5 Diets for Heart Health

 

Here’s a sobering thought. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It claims the lives of an estimated 610,000 people a year.

Is that a lot? Think about it this way...1 in 4 of all deaths are linked to heart disease.

But here’s the kicker...it’s largely preventable with a heart-friendly diet, regular exercise and other healthy-lifestyle habits.

So what should you eat to protect your health and lower your risk for heart disease? You’ll find plenty of heart-healthy meals on our Low-Sodium menu.

Hungry for more? Check out these top 5 heart-healthy diets:

1. Mediterranean Diet

It’s the way people in the Mediterranean have been eating for centuries. Eat this: Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, ample amounts of olive oil, fish, herbs and spices, and a little red wine.

2. Ornish Diet

It’s the heart-friendly diet created by preventive medicine expert Dr. Dean Ornish. And it’s not just about eating more whole foods and plant-based foods. The Ornish diet also calls for healthy amounts of stress management, exercise, and positive relationships.

3. DASH Diet

DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. If you have high blood pressure, or you want to prevent high blood pressure, this eating plan will help you. Eat this: fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy. Your favorite food not on the list? That means you should avoid or limit it.

4. MIND Diet

What if you like the foods and eating patterns recommended by the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet? Use your MIND. The Mind Diet is actually a combination of the heart-friendly Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet designed to protect your heart and your brain. Eat this: Three or more servings a day of whole grains and vegetables. Snack on nuts. Every few days, eat beans, poultry, and berries. Have fish at least once a week. And always cook with olive oil.

5. TLC Diet

If you thought the TLC Diet was meant to give your body a little “tender, loving, care,” you’d be right. But TLC actually stands for Therapeutic Lifestyle Change and was created by the National Institutes of Health to help people control cholesterol levels. Stick to no more than 2,500 calories per day for men, and 1,800 for women. Eat this: Lots of fruits and vegetables. Two to three servings a day of low-fat or non-fat dairy products (yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, cheese). No more than 5 ounces a day of skinless chicken, turkey or fish. And 11 servings a day of whole-grain bread, cereal, pasta, and rice.

Hungry for more heart-friendly diets? U.S. News and World Report ranked 41 popular diets here.

But if you don’t want to cook or take a trip to the grocery store, you’ll find all the heart-healthy meals you need on the Low-Sodium menu.