Yes, you can eat your way to heart health. Here’s how
CNNCNN — Heart disease is the leading killer of men and women worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, but there are ways to significantly reduce your risk. In a new scientific statement, leading experts in nutrition ranked 10 popular diets on their ability to meet the AHA’s evidence-based dietary guidance for heart health, published in 2021. “The American Heart Association says no one should drink alcohol if they haven’t started,” Gardner said. Aimed at doctors While people concerned with heart health can and should use the new AHA ranking of the 10 diets, the scientific statement was written for physicians, Gardner said. “Or if there’s a superfood like chia seeds, you could take a really unhealthy food and sprinkle chia seeds on it and say, ‘Ah, I’m now protected.’ No, it needs to be part of an overall healthy pattern of foods.” To that point, Gardner stressed that each diet in the rankings was evaluated as it was intended to be eaten, not as people might actually do in real life.