Becoming physically active is a great way to start heart-healthy living, but you also need to eat nutritious foods. Healthy eating is easier than you might think. Here are the top five ways for you to Start! making heart-healthy choices.
1. Use up at least as many calories as you take in. Start by knowing how many calories you should be eating and drinking to maintain your weight. Don’t take in more calories than you know you can burn up every day.
2. Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups. You may be eating plenty of food, but your body may not be getting the nutrients it needs to be healthy. Nutrient-rich foods have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients but are also lower in calories. Download our easy-to-read chart to get started.
3. Use the Heart-check Mark as your guide. Look for the American Heart Association's heart-check mark on food packaging to quickly and reliably find foods that fit into your healthy eating plan. Save time. Before heading to the store, use our free grocery list builder to create your shopping list of heart-healthy products. Get started
4. Learn to buy healthy foods when you shop. Use our Supermarket Smarts guide to learn to shop heart healthy. Every month we'll profile a new aisle of the supermarket. more
5. Cook heart healthy. Every month we'll have a new, tasty low-fat recipe here for you to try out at home. Get cooking
