Heart Health

Use Nutrition Facts Labels to Choose Heart-Healthy Foods

Whether or not you have a family history of heart disease, it's a good idea to follow a heart-healthy diet. Heart disease is the nation's No. 1 killer.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers the following guidance about using the Nutrition Facts label to choose heart-healthy foods:

Choose foods with less fat, particularly saturated fat and trans fat, and less cholesterol.

Choose foods with less sodium, which can increase blood pressure -- a serious risk factor associated with heart disease.

Choose foods with fewer calories and more fiber, especially fiber from fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which may lower your risk of heart disease.

When using the Nutrition Facts label, many nutrients have an accompanying percentage of the nutrient's "Daily Value." The general rule is that a Daily Value of 20 percent or more indicates the food is high in that nutrient; a Daily Value of 5 percent or less indicates the food is low in the nutrient. There is no Daily Value for trans fats, so take a look at the total amount of trans fat on the label -- the idea is just to keep those as low as possible in your diet.

You can also look on food labels for official health claims related to heart health. These claims have passed muster with the FDA because they have met with significant scientific agreement about the relationship of the nutrients mentioned and a reduced risk of disease. Official heart-healthy claims include:

"While many factors affect heart disease, diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of this disease."
"Diets low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure, a disease associated with many factors."
"Soluble fiber from foods such as oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease."

Additional guidelines for choosing and preparing foods aimed at a healthy heart include:

Choose lean meat and poultry, and cook using a low-fat method (grill, broil or bake).

Avoid foods high in added sugar.

Unless a health professional has instructed you to restrict the amount of potassium you eat, choose foods that are high in potassium, which acts as a counter-balance to sodium and can help regulate blood pressure.

Reference:

Eat for a Healthy Heart (FDA)

A Key to Choosing Healthful Foods: Using the Nutrition Facts on the Food Label (FDA)
Whole Grains and Fiber (American Heart Association)

This article originally appeared in Chow Line (2/14/10) a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and was adapted for use on NetWellness with permission, 2010.

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Last Reviewed: Mar 29, 2010

Julie Kennel, PhD, RD, CSSD, LD
Director of Human Nutrition Dietetic Internship
College of Education and Human Ecology
The Ohio State University