Eating healthily can be very enjoyable and make a big difference to the health of our hearts. Yet it’s estimated that up to 30% of deaths from coronary heart disease are due to unhealthy diets. To get your diet heart-healthy, the main food groups must all be represented in the right amounts.

As well as cutting down on bad fats, there are lots of small changes you can make. Eating more fruit and vegetables, including pulses and whole grains, will increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and fibre. It’s also good to moderate your intake of salt and alcohol.

Starchy foods

Starchy foods, especially wholegrain varieties, are packed with energy and are the main source of a range of nutrients...

They contain fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins. Research suggests that people with a healthy heart tend to eat more wholegrain foods as part of a healthy lifestyle. Good sources of whole grains are:

• Wholemeal and seeded bread
• Wholemeal pasta
• Brown rice
• Oats, like porridge oats
• Whole grain breakfast cereals
• Whole grain crackers and crisp breads

Fruit and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. They're also low in fat and calories, making them excellent as snacks and as part of any meal. To get you up to at least five a day, you could try:

• Adding chopped fresh or dried fruit to your cereal
• Munching fruit or vegetable sticks as between-meal snacks
• Putting fresh fruit into delicious home-made smoothies
• Having a bowl of salad with a meal
• Using fruit or vegetables in your sandwiches: great combinations include:
     o Tuna and cucumber
     o Cottage cheese with pineapple or chopped peppers
     o Grated low-fat cheese with celery and tomato
     o Hummus with grated carrot
     o Lean chicken breast with lettuce, cucumber and tomato
• Brightening up rice or pasta salads with chopped vegetables or fruit
• Home-made vegetable soup made from peppers, sweet corn and tomatoes, root vegetables, broccoli or cauliflower
• Bulking out casseroles, soups or stews with carrots, leeks and parsnips
• Experimenting and treating yourself to more exotic fruits like kiwi or mango instead of sweets

Protein-rich foods

We should try to eat smaller amounts of meat, fish and vegetarian alternatives, choosing lower-fat versions when possible...

Meat

Some meats are very high in saturated fat, which can raise cholesterol levels. Go for the leanest option when you can. As a general rule, the more white you can see, the more fat it contains. For example, back bacon has less than half the fat of streaky bacon.

Fish

Fish is an excellent replacement for fatty meats. Its Omega 3 fats help look after your heart. It’s a good idea to try to eat at least two meals with fish each week, one of which should be oily. The best sources of Omega 3 are oily fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel and fresh tuna.

Pulses

These include peas, baked beans, lentils (red, green, yellow and brown), black-eyed peas and chickpeas. Pulses add bulk to a meal and are low in fat. Their fibre may also help to lower cholesterol. Try adding them to soups, casseroles and meat dishes: using more pulses and less meat will give you have a great tasting meal that’s lower in fat. Remember to rinse tined pulses thoroughly as their liquid can be very salty.

Understanding product labels

Lots of foods and drinks have handy guideline daily amounts (GDAs) for five key nutrients displayed on their packaging this tells you at a glance what percentage of your GDA is contained in a portion of the food you're about to eat.

Guideline daily amounts

GDAs are guidelines for men, women and children about the approximate amount of calories, sugars, fat, saturated fat, and salt they should eat on a daily basis. Men and women have different GDAs for some nutrients, but to keep things simple adult GDAs are based on female guidelines.

GDAs are a guide, not a target. Whilst it's okay to stick close to your GDA for calories, you should be trying to eat no more than your GDAs for sugars, fat, saturates and salt.

GDAs are clearly marked on all Flora products. The What’s Inside Guide website has more information about GDAs: www.whatsinsideguide.com