If you look up “heart healthy diet” on the Internet, there are a few guidelines that will come up over and over again:
- Eat more vegetables and fruits.
- Increase the amount of whole grains.
- Choose lower fat protein sources.
- Limit unhealthy fats and
- Reduce or avoid added salt, sugar and processed foods.
What if there was a diet that included all of these items, that was also easy for people to follow? As it turns out, there are several different diet plans that fit the bill, and we will discuss two of them in this post.
The DASH Diet
The American Heart Association reviewed 10 popular diets and rated them on a scale of 1 to 100 for their adherence to these guidelines. Only one diet got a perfect score—the DASH diet.
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This diet focuses on reducing salt and added sodium (especially from processed foods), while increasing foods that contain nutrients that help lower blood pressure such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, protein and fiber.
What does this look like in practice? Piling your plate with lots of non-starchy veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, lean meats and low-fat dairy products.
The Mediterranean Diet
Another diet that is well known for its benefits to cardiovascular health is the Mediterranean diet. This diet was first published in the 1970s, based on nutritional studies done in the previous decades that demonstrated that Mediterranean countries such as Greece and southern Italy that still followed their traditional diets had much lower rates of heart disease.
Like the DASH diet, the Mediterranean diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes and limited amounts of animal protein, mostly from poultry and fish. While studies have indicated that this way of eating is effective for reducing the risks of heart attack, stroke and other diseases, it received a slightly lower score from the American Heart Association due to being higher in fat (from olive oil) and alcohol (moderate consumption of red wine) than the DASH diet.
The Mediterranean diet (like any diet) is most effective when combined with other healthful habits, such as including more exercise, reducing stress and engaging with friends and family.
Both diets have been shown to have many health benefits, such as:
- Lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and strokes.
- Supporting a healthy weight.
- Supporting healthy blood sugar levels.
- Lowering the risk of metabolic syndrome.
- Supporting a healthy balance of microbes for your gut biome.
- Lowering the risk for certain types of cancer.
- Lowering inflammation.
- Slowing the decline of brain function as you age.
- Promoting longevity.
If you would like to improve your diet but aren’t sure what steps to take, there are many books and online resources for both the DASH and Mediterranean diet. These include menu plans and recipes, such as Healthy Eating | American Heart Association.
Or if you are concerned about the best way to eat for a health condition, reach out to your doctor for a referral to a dietician, who can help create a personalized plan for you.
Learn more about how the DASH and Mediterranean diets support heart health, with nutrition counseling available at Warner Hospital and Health Services.
