Heart health

The best diets for heart health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., killing around 610,000 people in the country every year.

A poor diet can increase the risk of heart disease, because eating food high in fat can lead to high blood pressure high cholesterol levels, and obesity, which are major risk factors for the condition

But which eating plan is best for a healthy heart? For this category, the health experts analyzed each of the 40 diets and gave them average heart-health ratings.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet took first place in this category. Developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the DASH diet is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and low-fat dairy, but it limits foods high in sugar and saturated and trans fats.

The DASH diet was also ranked the best overall diet.

The Mediterranean diet — which emphasizes consuming fish and seafood at least twice weekly, alongside regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains — took joint second place for best heart-healthy diet, alongside the Ornish diet.

With the Ornish diet, fat is limited to 10 percent of daily calories, and foods are divided into five groups, from the least to most healthful.