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Eating a high-fat diet increases your risks of obesity, clogged arteries, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke. Try to eat no more than three servings of fat per day. A tablespoon of butter is a serving. Ways to do this include: Check the labels on food to see what types of fat they contain. Saturated fats are generally solid fats like butter and shortening. They increase your cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Keep saturated fats to 14 grams per day or less. Trans fats also increase your cholesterol, increasing your risk of clogged arteries and heart attacks. Try to eat no more than two grams of trans fats per day. If food says that it has fats which are "partially hydrogenated," they may be trans fats. Unsaturated fats like monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are thought to be healthier than saturated and trans fats. They are found in oils, avocados, nuts, and seeds. The Mayo Clinic recommends the following fat sources: Olive, canola, vegetable, and nut oils; avocados; nuts; seeds; trans-fat-free margarine; cholesterol-lowering margarines like Benecol, Promise Activ, and Smart Balance. Less healthy fats include: Butter, lard, bacon fat, gravy, cream sauces, nondairy creamers, hydrogenated margarine, hydrogenated shortening, cocoa butter, chocolate, coconut, palm, cottonseed, and palm kernel oils. Many people don't eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables. Try to consume four to five servings of both fruit and vegetables daily. A serving is a half a cup. Fruits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins and minerals and they are low in fat. Healthy ways to get fruits and vegetables include eating them fresh or frozen. If you purchase canned items, look for low sodium vegetables and fruits that are canned in juice or water. Avoid eating vegetables that are fried, breaded, or have heavy cream sauces. These are high in fat. Fruits that are canned in sugary syrups or are frozen with added sugar will increase your calorie intake. Prepare healthy snacks of fresh fruit and vegetables and keep them handy for when you are hungry. You can bring them with you to work or school for between meals. Apples, bananas, carrots, cucumbers and green peppers all make convenient, satisfying snacks when you are on the go. Great sources of lean meats include poultry and fish. Limit your consumption of fatty red meats. The fat and cholesterol will build up in your arteries and increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart attacks. Limit your meat consumption to 6 servings per day. A serving is an ounce of meat or an egg. Trim the fat off your meat and remove the skin. There is often a layer of fat beneath the skin. Bake, grill, or roast meat instead of frying it. Salmon, herring, trout, and tuna are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which will help control your cholesterol. Try to eat them at least twice per week instead of other meats. This is exceptionally important when people have high cholesterol, blood pressure or other heart risks. Whole grains have more nutrients so they will fill you up faster than processed white breads. This will help you control your portion sizes. A serving is a slice of bread or a half a cup of cooked rice. Try making some easy replacements to increase the amount of whole grains you consume: Purchase whole wheat flour instead of white flour. Eat whole wheat pasta and breads instead of white. Eat brown rice instead of white. Barley and buckwheat are excellent additional sources of whole grains and fiber. Eat oatmeal instead of commercially prepared breakfast cereals. If you do eat commercially prepared cereals, look for ones that provide at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. Avoid eating muffins, frozen waffles, doughnuts, biscuits, quick breads, cakes, pies, and egg noodles. Low fat dairy can provide you with calcium and vitamin D, which is important for maintaining healthy bones. However, it is important to eat low-fat and low-salt varieties to avoid compromising your heart. Too much salt will increase your blood pressure and a high fat diet can increase your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart attacks; full-fat dairy, like cheeses and yogurts, contain high levels of both saturated fats and sodium. Limit your dairy intake to a maximum of three servings each day. Look up the serving size for the particular dairy product you're eating. One serving of milk is a cup (240 mL), a serving of yogurt is 6 oz (170 g), and a serving of cheese is 1 oz (28 g). Eat only low-sodium cheeses. Drink low-fat or skim milk, eat low-fat or skim yogurt, and avoid cream sauces. Restaurants often make cream sauces with heavy cream which is high in fat. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, increases your chances of having heart disease. You can lower your blood pressure, and with it, your heart disease risk, by cutting down on salt. Try to eat no more than 2,300 mg of salt per day. Easy ways to cut your salt intake include: Removing the salt shaker from the table. Many people add a few shakes of salt to their plate right before they dig in. Try to eliminate this extra source of salt. Don't salt rice or pasta water when you cook. If recipes call for salt, you can still add some salt, but try reducing it by at least half. If you are baking bread that will rise, it may need a small amount of salt, but you can still reduce the amount in the recipe. Check the labels on canned foods. Many have salt added. If possible, try to purchase low-salt canned foods. Because sodium is in salt, it may say "low-sodium" on the label. Replace salted snacks with a fruit or vegetable. Instead of eating chips, pretzels, or salted nuts, try eating a carrot or an apple. Sugar is high in calories, but low in nutrients and fiber. This means it makes you prone to overeating when you are eating sugary foods. Because obesity increases your risks of developing heart problems, you should minimize the amount of processed sugars you eat. Eat five servings or less per week. A serving is a tablespoon of sugar or jelly. High levels of carbohydrates (which your body converts to sugar) negatively impact triglyceride levels which have a direct impact on the heart. Avoid candies, cakes, cookies, puddings, pies, and pastries. If you drink coffee or tea, don't add sugar. Drink water instead of sugary sodas. Go easy on artificial sweeteners like Splenda, NutraSweet, and Equal.
Protect your heart and your arteries with a low-fat diet. Eat diverse fruits and vegetables. Eat lean, not fatty, meats. Manage your weight with six to eight servings of whole grains per day. Control your fat intake with low-fat dairy products. Reduce your hypertension risk with a low-salt diet. Limit the amount of sweets you eat.