Health - Best diet for a healthy heart

The best diet for a healthy heart is rich in fruit and vegetables, fibre, unrefined carbohydrates such as wholegrain cereals and root vegetables, and low in fatty, sugary foods.
The good news is that, unlike in the past when the emphasis was on avoiding certain foods, nowadays the emphasis is very firmly on choosing foods you can eat to improve the health of your heart and blood vessels.
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Fresh fruit and vegetables are rich sources of antioxidants, nutrients that help to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, one of the main triggers of atherosclerosis. Upping your intake of antioxidants can significantly decrease build up of plaques in the arteries.
Three important antioxidants are vitamins C, E, and beta carotene - often referred to as the ACE vitamins because beta carotene is converted into vitamin A in the body.
Beta carotene is found in yellow, orange and green fruit and vegetables, such as carrots, apricots, red peppers, sweet potatoes, parsley, spinach, asparagus and kale.
Vitamin C is found in most fruit and vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, blackcurrants and kiwi fruit.
Vitamin E is found in nuts, seeds, wheatgerm and broccoli.
Other antioxidants include a group of nutrients called bioflavonoids, found in tea, red wine, apple skins and oranges among many other foods.
Folic acid, a type of B vitamin, along with vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, are also important for a healthy heart. Most people with a raised homocysteine level, which has been linked to heart disease, have been found to have a low intake of these nutrients, which are thought to be necessary to process homocysteine, so that it does not build up in the blood.
Sources of folic acid are green leafy vegetables, offal and fortified cereals. B vitamins are found in fish, egg yolk, whole grain cereals, sprouted seeds, offal, pulses and eggs.

Five a day
To make sure you get your day's supply of fruit and vegetables, aim to eat three fresh fruits either at mealtimes or as snacks, plus a substantial portion of vegetables and/or salad with at least two of your main meals a day.
Eating a healthier diet
• Take it slowly: changes in eating habits are more sustainable if you make them gradually and if they're realistic.
• Read labels: help yourself to make healthier food choices by studying food labels and avoiding those that are high in fat, sugar or salt.
• Eat more fresh foods: processed foods are more likely to be high in fatty and sugary elements, while fresh foods are low in these and high in beneficial vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
• Learn to substitute: for example, instead of a high-fat croissant for breakfast choose a bagel, instead of garlic bread go for grissini (bread sticks), instead of chips choose a baked potato and so on.
Good fats and bad fats
The fats you consume are important factors in helping promote a healthy heart. You should cut your consumption of 'bad fats'. These are saturated fats, that is, hard fats found mainly in animal products such as red meat, butter and hard or full-fat cheeses; and 'trans-fats' (fats that have been solidified by the process of hydrogenation) found in processed foods such as many margarines, biscuits, cakes and pies.
Both these types of fats can contribute to raised cholesterol levels.
At the same time as cutting 'bad fats,' you should increase your intake of 'good fats.' These are fats that actively protect the arteries against athersclerosis: raising levels of 'good' HDL cholesterol, and having other beneficial effects on the arteries.
Good fats comprise omega-3 fatty acids, found particularly in oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines, tuna, salmon and swordfish; and omega-6 fats found in olives, nuts, seeds and seed oils, and many vegetables and grains.
Garlic and onions can also help improve your cholesterol profile. They contain compounds that help lower blood pressure and levels of harmful LDL cholesterol, and they also raise levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol.
Fibre
A high intake of fibre helps lower cholesterol levels. The fibre thought to be the most helpful is 'soluble' fibre, a gluey substance found in lentils, kidney beans and other pulses, apples, pears, strawberries, blackberries and cereals such as rye, barley, rice and oats, whole grain bread and pasta.
Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, peas, squash, corn, yams and sweet potatoes are other good sources.
Salt
Although you need some salt to maintain your body's sodium balance, a high intake is linked to high blood pressure, one of the main risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Try to limit your consumption of processed and snack foods, bacon and salami, and avoid adding extra salt to your food at the table and when cooking. Eating more fruit and vegetables, which contain potassium, helps to balance sodium levels.
Eating for a healthy heart
Use herbs to add interest to vegetables rather than butter or salt. For example, steam green beans with dill, potatoes with mint, courgettes with tarragon.
Sweeten dishes with apple juice or pureed pears, and add spices such as cinnamon to give a hint of sweetness rather than using sugar.