Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. People of most racial and ethnic groups in the country are more likely to die from a heart-related issue than anything else.
These statistics are startling, and if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed when researching what you can do to improve your heart health, you’re not alone. The good news? You don’t have to exercise for three hours a day and eat a diet entirely of fish and plant-based foods to keep your heart healthy. A few simple tweaks can go a long way. One of the easiest things you can do is to eliminate (or strictly limit) certain foods that are especially hard on your heart.
Here, cardiologists and a nutritionist discuss three foods that you should consider cutting from your diet ASAP, and what to eat instead.
1. Bacon
Sorry, bacon enthusiasts, but all the experts we consulted agreed: If you want to take good care of your heart, you should save bacon for special occasions or eliminate it from your diet completely.
“The way bacon is made can lead to adverse effects on heart health,” said Michelle Routhenstein, a preventive cardiology dietitian-nutritionist.
“The curing process of bacon with sodium nitrite and its high sodium content can elevate blood pressure, while the compounds formed during cooking, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines (HCAs), contribute to inflammation and damage to blood vessels, collectively increasing the risk of heart disease.”
While bacon is the greatest offender, Dr. Saman Setareh-Shenas, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai, said that anyone who is eating with heart health in mind should be wary of processed meats in general, as well as red meats. (Although often considered white meat by culinary standards, pork is classified by Cleveland Clinic, Diabetes UK and other entities as red meat.)
“People who eat diets rich in red meat, especially those with highly processed meats, have been associated with higher cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality, and obesity,” Setareh-Shenas said. “Ingredients used to make these foods include sodium and nitrites. Bacon is especially high in salt, saturated fat, cholesterol, heme iron, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic amines.”