February is American Heart Month

Focus on Heart-Healthy Eating

Mayor Bert Steinman and the Ewing Township Health Department would like to share with you this heart-healthy eating aid in observance of American Heart Month. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. But you can do a lot to protect your heart and stay healthy. Heart-healthy living involves understanding your risk, making healthy choices, and taking steps to reduce your chances of getting heart disease, including coronary heart disease, the most common type. By taking preventive measures, you can lower your risk of developing heart disease that could lead to a heart attack. You can also improve your overall health and well-being. One of the first steps toward a heart healthy lifestyle is a heart-healthy diet. Here are some foods that work toward a heart-healthy diet. 

Heart Healthy Foods

• Vegetables including spinach, collard greens, kale, cabbage, broccoli, and carrots.
• Fruits including apples, bananas, oranges, pears, grapes, and prunes.
• Whole grains such as plain oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain bread, or tortillas
• Protein-rich foods consisting of:
  • fish such as salmon, tuna, and trout. Theses are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Lean meats such as 95% lean ground beef, pork tenderloin, skinless chicken, or turkey.
  • Eggs
  • Nuts, seeds, and soy products (tofu)
  • Legumes such as kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and lima beans.
• Oils and food high monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
  • Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts.
  • Nut and seed butters
  • Salmon and trout
  • Seed (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, or flax)
  • Avocados
  • Tofu
  • Canola, corn, olive, safflower, sesame, sunflower, and soybean oils (exclude coconut or palm oil)
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy foods include milk, cheese, or yogurt.

Foods that are not Heart Healthy

Limit the following:

• Saturated fats including butter, lard, coconut oil, palm oil, full fat milk and cheese, and fatty cuts of meat and chicken with skin.
• Added sugars such as in chocolate, soda, cake, syrup, cereal, and more.
• High sodium foods like salt, French fries, cured meats, canned soup, instant noodles and sauces, and seasoning mixes with high sodium content.

To help you choose and prepare foods that are lower in sodium:

• Read food labels and choose products that have less sodium for the same serving size.
• Choose low-sodium, reduced-sodium, or no-salt-added products.
• Choose fresh, frozen, or no-salt-added foods instead of pre-seasoned, sauce-marinated, brined, or processed meats, poultry, and vegetables.
• Eat at home more often so you can cook food from scratch, which will allow you to control the amount of sodium in your meals.
• Flavor foods with herbs and spices instead of salt.
• When cooking, limit your use of premade sauces, mixes, and instant products such as rice, noodles, and ready-made pasta.

Additional Resources

Tips to Reduced Salt and Sodium Fact Sheet from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

A Week with the DASH Eating Plan  from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

American Heart Month: Heart-Healthy Eating from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)