An important factor for maintaining cardiovascular health and decreasing your risk of developing heart disease is following a heart-healthy diet!

To help prevent heart disease, we want to increase our HDL cholesterol levels and decrease our LDL cholesterol levels. In addition to increasing physical activity, incorporating heart healthy fats, increasing fiber intake, and limiting saturated fats can help to lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol levels.

Good sources of heart-healthy fats and fiber to add into your diet:

Sources of Heart-Healthy Fats

Mono-unsaturated fats:

• Nuts/nut butters
• Oils: canola, olive, safflower, sunflower
• Avocados
• Olives

Poly-unsaturated fats:

• Oils: soybean, corn, safflower

Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

• Cold water fish: salmon, herring, sardines, trout
• Walnuts
• Flax & chia seeds

Sources of Fiber

Soluble:

• Oatmeal, oat bran, barley, flax seed, psyllium
• Oat cereals and oat bread
• Beans & lentils
• Apples, apricots, citrus, mango, pears, plums, prunes, strawberries
• Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, green beans, green peas, okra, onion

Insoluble:

• Amaranth, barley, buckwheat, kamut, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, rye teff, wheat
• Whole grain bread, cereal, crackers, pasta
• Beans & lentils
• Fruits with peel
• Vegetables with peel