Scientists Outline 9 Steps to Better Heart Health in New AHA Dietary Guidelines

“They’re all important because they work together to promote a healthy diet,” says Dr. Shenoy, and, they support “overall wellbeing in addition to cardiovascular health,” she adds. Take note of all the new recommendations, and how to follow them, below.

1. Balance diet and exercise to maintain a healthy weight

This means understanding roughly how many calories you intake and burn on a regular basis, and adjusting your lifestyle to stay within a desired weight range. The sweet spot is different for everyone depending on height, weight, health history, ability, and more, so it’s something you can and should discuss with your doctor, who can help you find a diet and exercise routine that is best for you.

In general, to maintain weight is to not consume more calories than you burn, and to lose weight takes a calorie deficit. It’s important to note, however, that this guideline does not encourage restrictive eating or short-term, extreme changes, but rather, it touts an adoption and understanding of long-term heart-healthy habits that can be helped by acknowledging your learned approach to diet and exercise. In fact, researchers noted that a heart-healthy lifestyle can and should start as early as age 1.

“Ultimately, understanding cultural factors, personal preferences, ethnic and religious practices, life stages, and socioeconomic contributors can assist in counseling and promoting the adoption of a heart-healthy dietary pattern that optimizes energy balance and promotes long-term adherence on an individual level,” the researchers noted.

2. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables

This may seem like standard protocol, but it’s worth emphasizing at a time when ultra-processed foods are everywhere. Also, the variety part of this recommendation is key—as fruits and vegetables contain different nutrients that can do different work for long-term health.

The guidelines also recommend prioritizing the produce in whole form, rather than in juice, to get their “much-needed” dietary fiber. It’s understood that fresh produce isn’t easily accessible nationwide, so frozen and canned options are recommended as a substitution, however, it’s best that they not contain added sugars or sodium.

3. Eat whole over refined grains

Whole grains, such as brown rice, contain all three components of the grain kernel—the starchy endosperm, inner germ, and outer bran—and provide “a complex matrix of dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive compounds,” according to the researchers’ new guidelines. Other whole grains are whole wheat, oats, quinoa, barley, and rye. Eating these grains instead of, say, white bread or white rice, is associated with lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar, per the research, all of which contribute to greater heart health.

4. Choose healthy protein sources

What does this mean, exactly? It’s a multi-layered answer that researchers outlined in detail. They recommend shifting from meat to plant-based proteins, such as legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) and nuts, when possible, because people who lean more heavily on those sources have been found to have fewer heart health complications. Researchers warn against prioritizing packaged plant proteins, as they can be heavily processed.

Additionally, researchers recommend regularly adding fish and seafood to your entrees, and opting for low-fat or fat-free dairy to manage calorie intake. If you go for red meat, it’s recommended to choose lean cuts, avoid processed forms, and limit portion size.

5. Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats

In other words, replace unhealthy fats (like foods fried in butter or beef tallow) with healthy ones (like those from avocado, olive oil, or nuts). These choices can help control high cholesterol, the dense substance that can build up in the arteries and prevent blood from circulating optimally, which then requires your heart to work harder than it needs to, potentially leading to heart disease and cardiovascular events.

6. Choose minimally processed instead of ultra-processed foods

Processed foods, also known as packaged foods, have improved food access by extending its shelf-life and reducing its costs. However, ultra-processed foods, or those that are made mostly or entirely from substances extracted from foods (such as oils, fats, sugar, starch, and protein isolates) or synthesized in laboratories, per the the Nova classification system, are becoming more and more of a staple in the American diet (over 73% of it, per past research) and the health consequences are looming—in the heart health category and others.

These types of foods, such as chips, packaged baked goods, cereals, and soft drinks often include high levels of sodium, added sugars, and ingredients not normally present in whole foods. They also tend to remove healthful components such as fiber and other nutrients, researchers noted. Whole foods like the aforementioned fruits and vegetables are necessary for heart health because they not only fuel the body in the ways it needs, but they also provide protective antioxidants that fight off inflammation, a known marker of heart disease.

7. Limit added sugars

Added sugars are those added to food and drinks during processing. Those include brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, coconut sugar, invert sugar, raw sugar, white granulated sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fruit juice concentrates, nectar, concentrated vegetable juices, honey, molasses, dextrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, lactose, and agave nectar, researchers noted.

Excess intake of added sugar in any of those forms is associated with higher heart disease risk. According to the AHA, men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day, and women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day.

8. Aim for low-sodium meals and skip the extra salt

Research shows that reducing sodium intake lowers blood pressure in both non-hypertensive and hypertensive people, so keeping an eye on salt intake for heart health is a given. Another option for maintaining blood pressure and lowering sodium intake is increasing potassium intake through fruits and vegetables or potassium-rich salt substitutes, the new guidelines say.

9. Limit alcohol or don’t start drinking

It was once thought that a regular glass of wine could be good for heart health due to its fruity antioxidants, but newer research has disproved that notion and declared that the negative impacts of alcohol outweigh those potential perks. And so, the AHA now recommends limiting drinks, or not drinking at all if you haven’t started, because research has associated progressive alcohol intake with high blood pressure in addition to certain cancers and other poor health outcomes.

The bottom line

“The main takeaway from the updated guidelines is to remember that heart-healthy eating involves creating a sustainable and varied dietary pattern that includes all of the necessary macronutrients required for cardiovascular and general health,” says Dr. Shenoy. “A sustainable heart-healthy diet achieved gradually is preferable to short-term rigid and unrealistic diet plans.”