Top Nine Tips for a Healthy Heart

In Australia, an estimated 1.3 million people reported living with heart disease, and it's the second leading cause of death, with more than 40,000 lives lost each year. 

Here are nine everyday choices for a healthy heart: 

1. Eat Healthy Fats

There are different types of dietary fats in food - unsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats. 

Unhealthy fats, saturated and trans fats, increase your risk of developing heart disease, and are found in foods like meats, pastries, cakes and pies. Healthy fats are unsaturated fats found in avocados, nuts, seeds and their oils.  

Healthy fats supply valuable fatty acids that help nurture your body and brain, and help you absorb important fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, K. 

How to eat healthy fats: 

• Using extra-virgin olive oil or margarine instead of butter, ghee or coconut oil
• Use seeds liberally by adding chia seeds, freshly ground linseeds (flaxseeds), sunflower, or pumpkin seeds to your cereal, yoghurt, salads, and meals
• Snack on a (30g) handful of unsalted nuts, and use nut butters like peanut butter in smoothies, or to top toast, cereal or yoghurt – eating 30g of unsalted nuts each day can reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 27%.
• Add avocado to salads, sandwiches, and dessert like this choc coconut mousse.
• Choose plant-based milks like Almond, Soy or Oat, or low-fat dairy milk
• Choose plant proteins, for example add legumes like chickpeas, butter beans and cannelini beans to soups and sauces or delicious dips
• Avoid processed meats like salami and sausages, fatty cuts of meat and their skins (i.e. skin from chicken)

2. Choose Wholegrains

Whole grains contain the endosperm (starchy middle), bran (outer layer) and germ (embryo). The bran and germ is rich in fibre, minerals, lignans, and phytochemicals - all beneficial for our heart health.  

When whole grains are refined, to make foods like white rice and white bread, the health benefits are largely lost as the nutrient rich germ and bran is removed.   

How to choose wholegrains: 

• Choose the wholemeal or wholegrain option, where available, for breads, pastas, crackers, breakfast cereals and flour.

• Instead of white rice, choose brown or coloured rice, quinoa, or pearled barley.
  

3. Boost Fruits and Vegetables

Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily is important for heart disease prevention. Along with valuable fibre, fruits and vegetables have important antioxidants and phytochemicals which help to protect your heart.

While all fruit and vegetables are beneficial, research shows that certain fruit and vegetables may have the greatest heart health benefit, such as citrus and pommes (apples, pears) fruit, allium (onion, garlic, chives, leek), carrots, cruciferous (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts) and green leafy vegetables.      How to boost fruits and vegetables: 

• Add fresh or frozen fruits to your cereal or smoothies
• Include fruits and veggies as snacks – pair veggie sticks with hummus or a tzatziki dip
• Add a variety of salads, sprouts, beans and legumes, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot, and olives to wraps and sandwiches
• Fill half your plate with fresh, lightly steamed, sauteed, or stir-fried vegetables at lunch and dinner. 

4. Increase Plant Sterols

Increasing the amount of plant sterols in your diet to 2-3g per day, helps lower your LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol by about 9%. The plant sterols work by blocking cholesterol absorption from food in your gut, meaning less cholesterol ends up in your bloodstream. 

Plant sterols are naturally found in very small amounts in plant foods, however diet alone does not provide enough for the cholesterol lowering benefit - you’ll need to consume 2-3g of plant sterols each day, from plant sterol enriched cereals such as Weet-Bix Cholesterol Lowering, spreads, or a plant sterol supplement.  

5. Aim for More Soluble Fibres

Each type of fibre (soluble, insoluble, resistant starch, prebiotics) plays an important role in your gut and overall health. In particular, soluble or viscous fibres are components of plants that create a gel like texture when soaked or cooked. These fibres also help catch cholesterol in your gut, preventing it from being absorbed into your bloodstream. .    How to increase soluble fibres: 

• Add ground linseeds, chia seeds, or psyllium husks to cereal or yoghurt

• Use oats in smoothies,  homemade muffins, breads or muesli bars.

• Add barley to soups or risotto, like this oat, barley and corn risotto.

• Use legumes and pulses like lentils, chickpeas, or red kidney beans in salads, soups and stews, and hummus, or this eggplant and chickpea dip on sandwiches and wraps. 

• Include bananas, apples, oranges, pears, berries, okra, eggplant, peas, avocado or turnip in the recommended 2 serves fruit and 5 serves vegetables per day.   
  

6. Eat soy

Soy foods including soy beans, soy milk, tofu and tempeh are heart healthy foods. The soy protein, fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, and isoflavones in soy foods can help to lower your cholesterol, improve blood pressure, and help keep your blood vessels flexible.

How to eat soy foods: 

• Use calcium fortified soy milk in your hot beverages, cereal, chia seed puddings, porridge or smoothies

• Use soy and linseed wholegrain breads

• Use firm tofu or tempeh in stir-fries, salads and nourish bowls. Soft tofu works well in soups and curries, whereas silken tofu can be used in smoothies, dips and desserts.
  

7. Reduce Salt

Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. All salt types, including sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, rock salt and regular table salt, contain similar amounts of sodium. Sodium is essential for your body, helping with nerve signals, muscle movements and fluid balance.  

The Heart Foundation recommends adults eat no more than 2000mg of sodium or 5 grams (about 1 teaspoon) of salt per day, so that your body still gets the sodium it needs. However, consuming more than this, which is the case for nearly two in three (66%) Aussie adults, can increase your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Most of the salt we eat comes from our meals and snacks, rather than the salt shaker at the table, so read your food labels regularly and aim for foods with less than 400mg of sodium per 100g. 

How to reduce salt: 

• Use salt reduced or no added salt versions of stock, pasta sauces, tomato pastes, canned vegetables and legumes, and sauces

• Gradually decrease the amount of salt added during cooking, so that your taste buds will adjust

• Add a variety of herbs and spices to flavour your meals, including garlic, ginger, turmeric, pepper, coriander, parsley, oregano, basil, thyme, sage, rosemary, saffron, chives, mint and cinnamon
  

8. Be Active

Regular physical activity can help raise HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, lower triglycerides and keep your heart fit and strong, as well as helping you feel more energetic during the day, and sleep better at night. Try to be physically active for at least 30 minutes most days of the week.  

9. Avoid Alcohol and Tobacco

There is no safe amount of alcohol for heart health. The less you drink the better, and for some people, not drinking at all is the safest option. Smoking is also very harmful for your heart and greatly increases cholesterol and your heart disease risk. If you’re a smoker, speak to your doctor on how to quit.

Want More Information?

Our nutrition fact sheets, created by accredited dietitians, provide the latest nutrition and lifestyle information to help you understand which foods are the best to eat. Click here to see the heart health nutrition fact sheets.