13 Steps To Heart Healthy Diet

The WHO puts it plainly: healthy diets help to protect against noncommunicable diseases, “including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.” The NHS page on preventing coronary heart disease recommends “a low-fat, high-fibre diet” with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains.

The thirteen steps below turn that advice into things you can do in a normal week. Each one is linked to the page it comes from, and step 10 covers where dates fit.

1. Build meals around vegetables, fruit and whole grains

The NHS heart page asks for “plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (5 portions a day) and whole grains.” Plan each meal around those first.

2. Keep salt to 6g a day

The NHS says eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Adults should have no more than 6g a day, around 1 level teaspoon, and that includes the salt already in food.

3. Look for salt you did not add

Around three quarters of the salt we eat comes from packaged and everyday foods such as bread, breakfast cereals, meat products and ready meals, according to the same NHS page. It suggests tasting food before adding any extra salt, and using herbs and spices, black pepper, garlic, chilli or lemon juice instead.

4. Cut down on saturated fat, including santan and palm oil

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases the risk of heart disease. The NHS eight tips for healthy eating set a limit of 30g a day for men and 20g a day for women, on average.

The NHS heart page lists the foods high in saturated fat. Butter, ghee, lard, cream, hard cheese, sausages, fatty cuts of meat, cakes and biscuits are on it, and so are “foods that contain coconut or palm oil.” For a Malaysian kitchen that means rich santan dishes and anything deep-fried in palm oil.

5. Swap to unsaturated fats

A balanced diet still includes some fat. The NHS heart page names oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds, and sunflower, rapeseed and olive oils as foods high in unsaturated fat. Its page on fats says there is “good evidence that replacing saturated fats with some unsaturated fats can help to lower your cholesterol level.”

6. Steam, boil or grill more often than you fry

The WHO lists “steaming or boiling instead of frying when cooking” as a way to reduce saturated and trans fat. It also advises limiting baked and fried foods and pre-packaged snacks such as doughnuts, cakes, pies, cookies, biscuits and wafers. When you do have meat, the NHS suggests lean cuts with any visible fat cut off.

7. Eat fish twice a week

The NHS advises at least 2 portions of fish a week, including at least 1 portion of oily fish such as salmon, sardines or mackerel. Oily fish are high in omega-3 fats, “which may help prevent heart disease.” The same page warns that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt, so check the label on tinned sardines.

8. Raise your fibre towards 30g a day

The NHS fibre guide says eating plenty of fibre is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. UK guidelines set 30g a day, and most adults eat an average of about 20g. It names wholemeal bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta and porridge oats as good sources.

9. Get 400g of fruit and vegetables a day

The WHO says everyone older than 10 should aim for at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day. Fresh is good. Frozen and canned are also good, provided they don’t have added sugars or excess sodium.

10. Fit dates in at mealtimes

Dates count towards that fruit total. The NHS 5 A Day guide says a 30g portion of dried fruit, such as dates, counts as 1 of your 5 A Day, but should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.

The WHO page on potassium and blood pressure says increasing potassium intake “significantly reduces blood pressure in adults” and names dates among the fruits that contain it. USDA FoodData Central record 168191 lists Medjool dates at 696 mg potassium and 66.5 g total sugars per 100 g, with one pitted date weighing 24 g.

One randomised trial that measured blood pressure found no effect. In that 2022 trial, 79 people with type 2 diabetes ate 60 g of dates or 60 g of raisins a day for 12 weeks and 61 completed it. There was no difference in blood pressure or lipids, and the authors saw no beneficial effect of dates on other cardiovascular measures. Treat dates as one of your fruit portions, not as a heart treatment.

Kurma ajwa Madinah is a small, roundish, near-black date from Madinah in Saudi Arabia. Whether you buy Kurma Ajwa or another variety, the 30g mealtime portion is the same.

11. Watch sugar, and juice in particular

The NHS heart page says to avoid too much sugar, as this can increase the chance of developing diabetes, which significantly increases the chance of developing coronary heart disease. The NHS sugar page says adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, and that sugar in fruit is not counted as free sugar unless the fruit is juiced or puréed. That makes a blended date drink different from whole dates on a plate. Juice and smoothies together should stay under 150ml a day.

12. Choose water and unsweetened drinks

The NHS recommends 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower fat milk and lower sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are the healthier choices. It advises avoiding sugary soft and fizzy drinks, as they’re high in calories.

13. Keep to a healthy weight and limit alcohol

If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you’ll put on weight. Being overweight or obese can lead to heart disease and stroke, and the NHS heart page says a healthy weight reduces the chance of developing high blood pressure. The NHS recommends around 2,500 calories a day for men and around 2,000 for women. The NHS heart page also advises men and women not to regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week. If you smoke, giving up will reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Where to start

You do not need all thirteen at once. Pick two that fit your own kitchen and add another when those feel normal.

You can read about us or use the contact page for questions about dates.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a heart condition, ask your doctor or a dietitian how this advice applies to you.

References

1. World Health Organization. Healthy diet (fact sheet). who.int
2. World Health Organization. Increasing potassium intake to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular diseases in adults (eLENA). who.int
3. NHS. Coronary heart disease: prevention. nhs.uk
4. NHS. Salt in your diet. nhs.uk
5. NHS. 8 tips for healthy eating. nhs.uk
6. NHS. Fat: the facts. nhs.uk
7. NHS. How to get more fibre into your diet. nhs.uk
8. NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
9. NHS. Sugar: the facts. nhs.uk
10. U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168191: Dates, medjool. fdc.nal.usda.gov
11. Butler AE, Obaid J, Wasif P, et al. Effect of date fruit consumption on the glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial. Nutrients. 2022;14(17):3491. PMID 36079749. PubMed