A healthy diet can help reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease and stop you gaining weight, reducing your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also help lower your cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of some cancers. Even if you already have a heart condition, a healthy diet can benefit your heart.

A balanced diet

Everyone should aim for a well-balanced diet. Faddy crash diets may not provide the balance of nutrients you need. The best way to understand it is to think of foods in food groups.

Try to eat:

• plenty of fruit and vegetables
• plenty of starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes and pasta. Choose wholegrain varieties wherever possible
• some milk and dairy products
• some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
• only a small amount of foods and drinks high in fats and/or sugar.
• choose options that are lower in fat, salt and sugar whenever you can.

Fruit and vegetables

A well-balanced diet should include at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. Try to vary the types of fruit and veg you eat.

They can be fresh, frozen, dried or tinned. Pure unsweetened fruit juice, pulses and beans count as a portion, but they only make up a maximum of one of your five a day, however much you eat in one day.

A portion is about a handful (80g or 3oz), for example:

• 4 broccoli florets
• 1 pear
• 3 heaped tablespoons of carrots
• 7-8 strawberries

Fats

To help look after your heart health it is important to make sure you choose the right type of fats. So to help keep your heart healthy:

• Replace saturated fats with small amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats
• Cut down on foods containing trans fats.

It's also important to remember that all fats and oils are high in calories, so even the unsaturated fats should only be used in small amounts.

Saturated fat

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which can increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Unsaturated fats

Unsaturated fats, which can be monounsaturated fats (for example olive oil, rapeseed oil, almonds, unsalted cashews and avocado) or polyunsaturated fats (including sunflower oil and vegetable oil, walnuts, sunflower seeds and oily fish) are a healthier choice.

Trans fats

Another type of fat, known as trans fat, can also raise the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

Salt

Eating too much salt can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. Having high blood pressure increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Alcohol

If you drink alcohol, it's important to keep within the recommended guidelines - whether you drink every day, once or twice a week or just occasionally.

Content sourced from the British Heart Foundation (bhf.org.uk).