many calories are needed to maintain a healthy
weight. People are advised not to eat more calories
then they burn through activity. They should create a
meal plan that includes:
A variety of vegetables and fruits and unrefined,
whole-grain food.
Fish at least twice a week. Oily fish such as salmon,
trout, and herring contain omega-3 fatty acids. These
acids may help reduce the risk of fatal coronary
disease.
Lean meats and poultry without skin. These proteins
should be prepared them without added saturated
and trans fat.
Less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day.
A moderate amount of alcohol, with one drink per
day for women and two drinks per day for men.
Dairy products that are fat-free, 1% fat, and low-fat
dairy.
Food containing little or no salt.
The association advises the public to cut back on:
Foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable
oils to reduce trans fat in their diets.
Foods high in dietary cholesterol.
Beverages and foods with added sugars.
The association certifies grocery products that
meet the organization’s standards. Certification on
packaging is indicated by a red heart with a white
check mark inside. Products with that symbol meet
association criteria for recommended amounts of
saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people
above the age of 2. The standard-certification desig-
nation is based on one serving that contains 1 gram or
less of saturated fat, 20 milligrams or less of choles-
terol, and 480 milligrams or less of sodium. The whole-
grains certification is issued to foods containing those
quantities and an amount of whole-grain at a propor-
tion of 51% by weight with reference to the amount
customarily consumed.
THE NHBLI HEART HEALTHY DIET.The NHBLI
website in the spring of 2007 featured heart healthy
diet guidelines and an online tool to create a personal
eating plan. The online activity starts with the person
providing information about height, weight, gender,
age, and level of physical activity. This action gener-
ates a recommendation for a daily calorie allowance.
That allowance is used to determine the percentage of
total fat and saturated fat permitted at that calorie
level. The consumer then receives prompts to select
food choices for three meals and a snack.As information is received, the person sees the
amounts of calories, fat, total fat, cholesterol, and
sodium that would be consumed. After the final
entry is made, the nutritional information is totaled.
The total is compared with the recommended
amounts. Along with that data are recommendations
on how to modify the meal plan to lower fat and
cholesterol consumption.
Meal planning on the heart healthy diet is based
on these guidelines:
A person should eat just enough calories to achieve
or maintain a healthy weight and reduce blood cho-
lesterol level. A doctor or registered dietitian can
determine what a reasonable calorie level.
Saturated fat should account for 8 to 10% of the
day’s total calories.
Total fat should be 30% or less of the day’s total
calories.
Dietary cholesterol should be limited to less than 300
milligrams per day.
Sodium intake should be limited to 2,400 milligrams
a day.
THE TLC DIET.The Therapeutic Lifestyles Changes
(TLC) Diet helps to lower the cholesterol of people
who have a heart disease or at risk of developing one.
The TLC section of the NHLBI contains online tools
similar to those for the Healthy Heart diet. The guide-
lines for the low-saturated fat, low-cholesterolTLC
dietare:
The person should eat just enough calories to achieve
or maintain a healthy weight and reduce the blood
cholesterol level.
Saturated fat should account for less than 7% of the
daily total calorie total.
Fat consumed amounts to 25 to 35%% of the day’s
total calories.
The person should eat less than 200 milligrams of
dietary cholesterol per day.
Sodium intake should be limited to 2,400 milligrams
per day.FunctionA healthy heart diet helps people age 2 and older
reduce the risk of cardiac disease. This is achieved by
the consumption of foods that keep total cholesterol
and LDL cholesterol at healthy levels. A healthy heart
diet may involve lowering cholesterol levels by reduc-
ing the amount of foods high in cholesterol, fat, and
sodium. At the same time, people work to increase
HDL levels through diet and exercise.Healthy heart diet