Health Tip: Choose Heart-Healthy Foods

(HealthDay News) — A heart-healthy diet can help keep blood vessels clear of plaque, and help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Womenshealth.gov offers these guidelines for a heart-healthy diet:

  • Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits.
  • Making at least half of your daily grain consumption whole grains. These may include whole-grain barley, brown rice, whole-grain corn and oatmeal.
  • Eating low-fat dairy foods, such as yogurt, cheese and milk.
  • Getting lots of nuts and dry beans, lean meat, fish and poultry without the skin.
  • Favoring polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats via vegetable oils, fish and nuts.
  • Avoiding: saturated and trans fats, sodium (salt), cholesterol and added sugars.