Foods to Avoid for a Healthy Heart

Your heart is the organ that gives life to your existence, figuratively and literally. It's a vital organ that pumps blood and oxygen to your brain and your other organs. When it suffers a disruption, say from clogged arteries, or stops working entirely, causing a heart attack, the consequences can be fatal. Since cardiovascular disease may be prevented with a healthy diet, it's important to know what foods to avoid and what to eat more of to live a long, high-quality life.

Certain Meats

Many meat products are full of saturated fat. Diets high in saturated fat content have been linked with elevated cholesterol levels, which can trigger clogged arteries and eventually lead to cardiovascular disease. Some examples of meats with high levels of saturated fat are red meat, lamb, pork and chicken with the skin still on it. If you eat these foods at all, do so sparingly. Choose turkey products instead or very lean cuts of beef.

Fried Foods

Fried foods should be avoided because they harbor trans fats. Trans fats are commercially made fats added to foods to extend their shelf life. They are popularly used in deep fryers because they are inexpensive. The problem is that trans fats raise your levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol while simultaneously lowering your HDL, or good, cholesterol. To be kind to your heart, avoid doughnuts and french fries and other processed foods made with shortening, like packaged crackers and cookies.

Animal Byproducts

You may think you are safe if you abstain from eating meat but still eat other animal byproducts. Unfortunately, many dairy products can be high in fat and should be eaten minimally. Foods to avoid are whole milk, cream, butter and cheese. With any kind of diet decision, you have to be realistic with yourself. Adding a tablespoon of cream to your coffee is not a terrible decision, but you should avoid a daily coffee drink that is half espresso and half cream. With that same philosophy in mind, one slice of cheese on a sandwich may not hurt you, whereas eating three pieces of pizza with extra cheese is a less healthy decision.

Foods With High Sodium Content

Too much sodium elevates blood pressure, which in turn puts more stress on your heart. Many Americans consume too much salt because it's so prevalent in the average diet. In order to avoid excess amounts of sodium, stay away from canned goods, especially soups. Sodium often is added to canned goods to preserve their shelf life. Choose fresh, or even frozen, vegetables instead, and make your own soup. Decrease your use of table salt and condiments. For example, 1 tbsp. of soy sauce has about 1,000 mg of sodium.

Alcohol

While alcohol isn't a food, its negative impact on your body should not be overlooked. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. While some research suggests one glass of wine for women and two glasses for men per day may have some health benefits, anything beyond that may be harmful. The antioxidants in wine can be found in nonalcoholic sources, such as fresh produce or even grape juice. In order to avoid the negative side effects associated with alcohol, try to avoid wine, liquor and beer.