Nutrition

Your heart and nutrition

Maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet - and lowering your intake of saturated fat - is perhaps the most important thing you can do to lower your risk of heart disease.

Saturated fat mostly comes from animal sources - although some plants such as cocoa butter, palm oil and coconut oil also contain saturated fat. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature.

Monounsaturated fats come from vegetable sources such as olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil, and are typically liquid at room temperature. Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of heart disease.

You can improve your diet overnight by:

• Paying attention to your diet and to what you're eating every day. No more than 30 percent of your calories should come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat^*7.
• Eating mainly fruits, vegetables and grains.
• Always eating three meals a day, and avoiding the temptation to skip meals.
• Avoiding the temptation to add salt to your food before eating.
• Trimming the fat from meat.
• Cutting out butter and any unnecessary oils.

* Percentage daily intakes are based on an average adult diet of 8700kJ. Your daily intakes may be higher or lower depending on your energy needs.

For more information:

• Your weight and your heart
• Blood pressure and your heart
• Cigarette smoking and your heart
• Cholesterol and your heart
• Exercise and your heart
• The heart and heart disease