The heart killing foods

 

These man-made fatty acids contain trace levels of trans fats, which can increase your harmful LDL cholesterol levels while decreasing your good HDL levels—a double whammy for heart disease. Candy:

Americans consume a staggering 22 pounds of candy a year. Those are some scary numbers, but there's something you can do to help avoid this ever happening to you. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends engaging in moderately intense aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes (so 2.5 hours) per week or 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity weekly in addition to moderate- to high-intensity strength training two days a week.

But back to the food! An easy first step you can take to drastically improve your cholesterol and blood pressure levels is by revamping your diet. Whether you're grabbing a lollipop at the doctor's office or popping a handful of M&Ms after lunch, candy is basically straight-up sugar in every shape and form—and it can increase fatty deposits, putting you at risk for heart disease. The heart-healthy diet emphasizes fiber, omega-3s, and lean protein, and it shuns saturated fats, trans fats, as well as excess sodium and sugar.

So what foods are a no-go? Read on to uncover what you should avoid to keep your heart pumping properly, and then replace these fridge offenders with heart-healthy foods instead like The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.

If you find your willpower silenced by your sweet tooth more often than not, put these tips to cut back on sugar to good use.

1. Coffee Creamers:

Snoop through the ingredients on that bottle of Coffee-Mate in your fridge or the powdered version in your pantry, and you'll notice mono- and diglycerides on the list. Not only do commercially baked cakes contain boatloads of sugar but they may also come concocted with partially hydrogenated oils aka potential sources of trans fat. Cake:

Leave the apple crumble and devil's food cake on the store shelf where it belongs. Get this: Campbell's Chunky Creamy Chicken and Dumplings Soup packs in 890 milligrams per serving—that's just under 40% of the daily sodium limit recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

2: Cake:

While most of it is chocolate, we doubt the population is picking a heart-healthy 70% dark chocolate bar over a Snickers every time. Stick to topping your morning joe with a humble splash of whole milk.

You'll want to focus on adopting a diet that's full of colorful fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, low-fat dairy, skinless poultry and fish, nuts, legumes, and non-tropical vegetable oils like olive oil. While trans fats have been banned from manufactured foods, you can still find them in baked goods and many restaurant foods. And that's by looking at what you eat more closely.

Granted, you're also going to want to get a bit more physical, too. They're high in calories, fat, and sodium—and are especially hard to quit noshing on after just one serving. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease accounts for about 655,000 Americans' deaths each year—claiming one life every 36 seconds. According to Harvard Medical School, consuming too much fructose can lead to an increase in blood triglycerides, which increases blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and taxes your ticker and arteries.

A low-sodium diet is essential for a healthy heart; the American Heart Association explains that eating over 2,300 milligrams (equivalent to one full teaspoon) of salt a day can increase your risk of high blood pressure—a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Save your heart, and skip the crunchy salt-dusted spuds.

3. Potato Chips:

It's no secret that potato chips aren't a friend to a healthy eating plan. Canned Soups:

Canned soups may provide a convenient lunch when you're short on time or ingredients, but despite the produce packed inside, they're far from heart-healthy thanks to their high sodium content. Pancake Syrup:

Most commercial pancake and waffle syrups are made with high fructose corn syrup instead of real maple syrup.

"Consuming diet soda will tell your pancreas to make more insulin, which will increase your adiposity (fat deposits) and risk of cardiovascular disease." 

4.  Soda:

Consider this: Marie Callender's Apple Pie contains 6 grams of saturated fat per serving, which amounts to about half of the American Heart Association's daily recommendation in just one slice. Cracking open too many cold ones isn't only adding inches to your waistline—it's also likely preventing your heart from pumping properly. "Drinking soda has serious consequences," Adam Splaver, MD, clinical cardiologist and co-founder of NanoHealthAssociates warns us in 15 Foods That Tax Your Heart. 

Beyond the sugars, soda has phosphoric acid which can promote osteoporosis and may be a cancer-causing agent. Before placing an elegantly-latticed pie as the centerpiece of your dinner table, keep in mind that the dessert isn't only detrimental to your heart—it's also one of the worst foods for your brain. "Regular soda promotes an insulin spike, which leads to weight gain and can cause a host of metabolic disorders. "Artificial sweeteners can lead to the same spike and risk of metabolic disease; a recent study indicated that excessive drinking can counterintuitively lead to weight gain," Splaver says. And the sugar can lead to inflammation, which causes cardiovascular disease."

Think you're doing your body a favor by replacing that can of regular soda with a Diet Coke? Sugar-free pops don't contain actual sugar, but that doesn't mean they're any better for you than the real thing