The 9 worst foods for your heart

Just as important as eating well for your heart, is avoiding foods that are bad for your heart. Prioritising whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables is the easy part. But what about pizza, hot chips and sweets? They have ingredients like trans fats, refined grains and sugar that can increase the risk of heart disease and other cardiac issues. Keep your ticker in tip-top shape by avoiding the following worst foods for your heart.

Take a look at the foods cardiologists avoid.

Processed and cured meats, including cold cuts, bacon and hot dogs, are some of the worst foods for your heart because of their high amount of saturated fats. Plaque buildup, hardening of the arteries and saturated fats are all connected, according to Dr Barbara George, a cardiovascular specialist. “Saturated fats raise your ‘bad’ cholesterol, or LDL, as compared to ‘good’ cholesterol, or HDL,” she says.

A 2020 study in JAMA Internal Medicine found a link between red and processed meat and a higher risk of heart disease and death. But research on processed meat being bad for your heart goes back some time. A research review from 2012 in Current Atherosclerosis Reports by Harvard University researchers found that eating processed meats is associated with a 42 per cent higher risk of heart disease.

The bottom line: Limit cold cut sandwiches and save hot dogs for a rare indulgence. If you plan to continue eating animal meats, turn to the best meat options such as lean red meat, skinless chicken, ground turkey or fish, especially fish rich in omega-3s like salmon, cod and tuna, Dr George suggests.

Here’s what you need to know for healthier shopping at the supermarket.

Some of the worst foods for your heart are processed foods, according to Dr Nieca Goldberg, the medical director of NYU Women’s Heart Program in New York. “Processed foods cause sharp increases in sugar and insulin levels,” Dr Goldberg explains. “And then the levels sharply decrease, leaving you more hungry and then you eat more.”

Processed foods often contain refined grains, including white flour or white rice. A 2017 study in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine found that refined grain intake was associated with a 9.4 per cent higher risk of heart disease.

Deep-fried foods are one of the top foods that are bad for your ticker, according to Dr Goldberg. Eating deep-fried foods contributes to heart disease risk factors, including high blood pressure and obesity. A 2015 review in Nutrients found that eating fried food four or more times per week is associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, two observational studies on men and women from America found that frequently eating fried foods increases the risk of developing heart disease. Bake, grill or roast your food for a healthy alternative to frying, Dr Goldberg recommends.

Many people associate high triglycerides (a type of fat that circulates in the blood) with high-fat foods. People may not know, however, that concentrated sweets, such as regular fizzy and sugary drinks, can actually rapidly raise blood triglyceride levels, according to registered dietitian nutritionist Malina Malkani.

Untreated high triglyceride levels may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. One 15-year study in JAMA Internal Medicine on added sugar and heart disease found that people who had 25 per cent of their daily kilojoules from sugar were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who had less than 10 per cent of added sugar make up their daily kilojoules.

Check out these perfectly normal reasons why your heart is racing.

Your sweet tooth could get you into lots of trouble when it comes to heart health. Just like sugary drinks aren’t great for your heart, it’s the same idea with sweets. “Dense sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes, and hypertension – all risk factors for heart disease and stroke,” Dr George says.

Satisfy your sugar cravings with fruit slices and unprocessed peanut butter. You get the crunch while benefitting from more protein and fibre. Try your best to stick to whole foods, fresh vegetables and fruits.

Check out the science behind what makes us put on weight..

Some studies – like one in Alcohol Research & Health – suggest that moderate drinkers are at a lower risk of heart disease compared to heavy drinkers and non-drinkers. This information, however, is not a licence to binge drink. In fact, one of the worst things for your heart is alcohol, according to Dr George, because of the kilojoules and sugar in alcohol.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends one alcoholic drink a day for women and two for men. “The difference is that women metabolise alcohol differently, and there is also a link between higher alcohol consumption and other conditions such as breast cancer and addiction,” Dr George says. Keep an eye on your glasses of wine and consider ways to drink less, such as these alternative ways to unwind.

Some tinned soups and vegetables are high in sodium and fat, making them a poor choice for heart health, according to Dr Goldberg. “Sodium is a preservative that is often added to foods during the canning process to increase shelf life and palatability,” Malkani explains.

It’s recommended that you limit daily sodium intake to 2300 mg per day. The ideal daily limit is 1500 mg for most adults, especially those with elevated blood pressure.

But tinned foods offer a convenient and affordable way to meet daily recommendations for foods like vegetables, legumes and fruits. “People can incorporate canned foods into meals and still stay within recommended sodium limits for optimal heart health by reading food labels, choosing canned products that are labelled, ‘low-sodium,’ or ‘low salt,’ or ‘no added salt,’ and rinsing canned foods like beans and vegetables with water before using,” Malkani says.

Foods packed with artificial trans fats are some of the most detrimental when it comes to heart health, says Malkani. “Artificial trans fats have been shown to lower HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol levels and raise LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol levels and increase the risk for heart disease and stroke,” she says. In one 14-year study of 80,000 women, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found a positive connection between heart disease and eating foods containing trans fats.

In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that trans fats were unsafe because of research connecting them to poor heart health. Manufacturers were given three years to remove them from food.

But the FDA notes that food containing less than 0.5 grams of trans fats, sometimes listed on the ingredient label as partially hydrogenated oils, can claim they have zero. Malkani points out that there may still be some products on the market that manufacturers created before the ban. Those goods could contain artificial trans fats. Keep an eye on microwave popcorns, frozen doughs, pastries, pizzas, fried foods and shortenings.

Condiments and sauces contain salt. This can raise blood pressure or worsen heart failure symptoms for someone with high blood pressure or heart failure, according to Dr Goldberg. Try your best to eat unhealthy condiments sparingly and ask for them on the side when you dine out.

Next, learn about the foods that may improve circulation.

Sign up here to receive Reader’s Digest’s favourite articles straight to your inbox!

Source: RD.com