The best diet for many people, whether they have been diagnoses with a heart condition or not is simply what is called a heart healthy diet. This means, at least according to the American Heart Association, low cholesterol and sodium. But is that enough to really keep you heart healthy? Well, it would depend on what type of factors you have against you. Are you already diagnosed with a heart problem? Do heart problems “run” in your family? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you should look at some other things. First, if you are overweight you want to go on a diet that will also allow you to lose the extra weight and keep it off. Increasing or starting an exercise program would be a good idea to go along with this diet.

The rest of a healthy diet for your heart is basically common sense. We all know what we should not eat and what we should. Many of us are in denial but we know. To start with the first thing to do is get rid of processed foods. This sadly includes a large part of the American diet today. The grocery stores are full of processed foods, but they are also filled with healthy food. Good for you food. Your body needs a balance of carbohydrates, protein and good fats. You do not want to eat complex carbohydrates and bad fat. For example, get rid of all white flour and sugar. That is the best place to start to get rid of bad carbohydrates. Buy only whole grain products. Buy more fruits and vegetables, fresh and organic if you can. Sure you can sauté some lean chicken, just do it in a Teflon pan with a small amount of olive (or another good) oil. Stay from salt. There are many very tasty salt substitutes out on the market today and fresh herbs are readily available inmost produce sections in supermarkets. If you need to lose weight cutting out the salt will also help you lose some weight. Also, stay away from cholesterol. There are many delicious egg substitutes out there and real eggs are one of the worst sources of cholesterol.

So to sum it up simply, lean meat and fish (lots of protein), fresh fruits and veggies, balanced with some good fats. Good fats included olive oil, canola oil, or 1/4 of an avocado. Also eat good whole grains, but do not over do on them as they, like their non-whole grain counterparts are still high in calories. Eat brown rice whenever you can instead of white rice for example.

Keep to this healthy diet, get to and stay at a healthy weight and you will feel better and look better in no time. It will also lower your cholesterol and chances of damage from heart disease and other conditions as well.

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