Heart Healthy Recipes & Foods Resource Center
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Heart Healthy Recipes & Foods

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Heart-healthy recipes focus on ingredients that promote cardiovascular health, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Incorporating these foods into your diet, while reducing saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars, can significantly lower your risk of heart disease and improve your overall well-being. With a bit of guidance and expert tips, you can create heart-healthy meals your whole family can enjoy.

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FAQ

What foods are good for heart health?

Foods that are good for your heart include fruits, vegetables, whole grains (like brown rice, oats, barley, and rye), low-fat or fat-free dairy, legumes, nuts, seeds, and proteins like lean meat and fish.

To reduce your cholesterol with diet, increase your intake of soluble fiber, limit saturated fats, and include foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids in your meals.

A heart-healthy meal plan includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. You should also aim to limit foods that are high in saturated fats, such as red meat, cheese, butter, baked goods, and french fries.

Limit sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams per day, which is about 1 teaspoon of salt.

Meet Our Experts In Heart Healthy Recipes & Foods
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Everyday Health’s team of board-certified physicians and health professionals contribute to the creation and review of content, ensuring that the information is useful, up to date, and accurate.
Kara-Andrew-bio

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle ...

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Anurag Sahu, MD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Anurag Sahu, MD, is the director of the adult congenital heart program at Inova Health System in Fairfax, Virginia. Previously, he was an associate professor of medicine as well as...

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Justin Laube

Justin Laube, MD

Medical Reviewer

Justin Laube, MD, is a board-certified integrative and internal medicine physician, a teacher, and a consultant with extensive expertise in integrative health, medical education, a...

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Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES

Medical Reviewer

Lynn Grieger is a registered dietitian-nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, certified personal trainer, and certified health and wellness coach. She comp...

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Michael Cutler, DO, PhD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Michael Cutler, DO, PhD, is a cardiac electrophysiologist at Intermountain Heart Rhythm Specialists in Salt Lake City, Utah. His research interests include understanding the cellul...

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Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, IFNCP, RYT-200

Medical Reviewer

Monique Richard is an award-winning registered and licensed dietitian-nutritionist (RDN, LDN) and nationally recognized nutrition expert who brings a deeply integrative, person-cen...

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Roxana Ehsani, RDN

Roxana Ehsani, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN

Medical Reviewer

Roxana Ehsani, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, is a Washington, DC–based registered dietitian-nutritionist, board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, and media spokesperson, consultant, a...

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Claudia Thompson, PhD, RD

Medical Reviewer

Dr. Claudia Thompson is an assistant teaching professor at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions and a practicing registered dietitian. She has worked at Mayo Clin...

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Reyna Franco, RDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American Col...

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Resources
  1. Heart-Healthy Foods: What to Eat and What to Avoid. Harvard Health Publishing. November 9, 2023.