Diet plays a crucial role in cardiovascular health, affecting everything from blood pressure to your likelihood of developing heart disease. And while certain eating patterns are solid choices for slipping into a smaller pair of jeans or gaining muscle mass, other diets are better suited for giving your heart health a boost.
Here are our top picks for heart-healthy diets.
For our Best Diets of 2022 ranking, the Forbes Health editorial team created a Forbes Health Best Diets Panel of experts to analyze 19 diets in a variety of areas, including heart health.
The diets we identified as the Best Diets for Heart Health had the highest average scores across our panel of physicians and registered dietitians for heart health, which we defined as the diet’s “effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing risk in existing heart disease patients.”
Consult your doctor before beginning a new diet or eating plan.
We created a Forbes Health Best Diets Panel of two physicians and two registered dietitians. They rated the diets on important factors for heart health.
Diet / Nutrition
Nutrition
Gastroenterology / Nutrition / Obesity Medicine / Bariatric Endoscopist
Nutrition
Nutrition is the heartbeat of cardiovascular health, as healthy dietary patterns are a proven and effective way to shield against cardiovascular disease[11]. And seeing as cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Western countries, it’s never been more critical[11].
Research links diets high in sodium, processed foods, added sugars and unhealthy fats—and low in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fiber, legumes, and fish and nuts—with a higher probability of developing cardiovascular disease[11]. What’s more, cardiovascular disease tends to coincide with other diseases like obesity, diabetes and hypertension, making a heart-healthy diet incredibly important.
But with “heart health” being a pretty broad term, determining the right nutrition plan for you can be a little more challenging than you’d expect.
“It sort of depends on the heart problem,” says Micah Eimer, M.D., a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Lake Forest, Illinois. “For example, patients who are prone to retaining fluid or have elevated blood pressure must limit their intake of sodium.”
“[But] patients who have lots of blockages in arteries but are less troubled with blood pressure would be best served to focus on the limitation of saturated fats and increases in dietary fiber,” he adds, illustrating how different cardiovascular issues might require different dietary guidelines.
Be sure to ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian, who can help you figure out a dietary plan that will work best for you and your needs.
To optimize heart health, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends maintaining a healthy dietary pattern that emphasizes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes, and non-tropical vegetable oils.
Additionally, the organization emphasizes keeping an eye on portion sizes, drinking alcohol in moderation (meaning no more than one serving a day for women and no more than two servings a day for men) and eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids (like salmon and trout) at least twice a week.
While our ranking highlights standout diets for heart health, this list isn’t comprehensive—and there are an array of other, heart-healthy eating plans out there. In fact, Melina Jampolis, M.D., a physician nutrition specialist and panelist for our Best Diets for Heart Health ranking, was surprised that a vegetarian or vegan diet didn’t crack the top five, as plant-focused diets offer a plethora of heart health benefits, she says.
Indeed, research shows healthy, plant-based diets consisting of foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes are associated with a decreased risk of coronary heart disease, while diets consisting of less healthy plant-based foods like juices, refined grains, fries and sweets, had an increased risk of coronary heart disease[12].
The AHA currently recommends limiting saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.
But that doesn’t mean you should swap all those fats for carbohydrates. “While dietary cholesterol and saturated fat have been the focus of diets for decades due to their association with atherosclerosis, we now have an epidemic of obesity that resulted from substituting [refined] carbohydrates for fat,” says Dr. Eimer, calling it the “Snackwell Effect.”
“The other issue that we see in the office and in the hospital every day is the harm that sodium causes in patients who are vulnerable, especially those with heart failure or kidney failure,” he adds—so watch the salt.
Along with following a heart-healthy diet—and avoiding foods that are known to take a toll on cardiovascular health—there are simple lifestyle habits you can implement for better heart health. Specifically, Dr. Eimer recommends:
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MIND Diet |
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 TLC Diet |
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For our Best Diets for Heart Health, the Forbes Health editorial team created a Forbes Health Best Diets Panel of two physicians and two registered dietitians to analyze 19 diets and their “effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular disease and ability to reduce risk in existing heart disease patients.”
The panelists gave each diet a score from one to five, and the diets with the highest average scores for heart health were named our winners.
Dr. Eimer doesn’t recommend taking a specific vitamin for heart health. “None have ever been proven in good trials to be beneficial for your heart,” he says.
As a general rule, Dr. Eimer doesn’t recommend taking a supplement for heart health. Although, he says, “For some patients with statin-related muscle aches, coenzyme Q10 may help with their symptoms. And for patients who have mild cholesterol elevation but don’t want to take medication, psyllium can be helpful, as can red rice yeast.”
For patients with high triglycerides, omega 3 fatty acids can be effective—but be sure to discuss with your doctor before starting any supplement.
For optimal heart health, the AHA recommends a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes and non-tropical vegetable oils.
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