Seven foods to avoid if you don’t want a heart attack

It’s the biggest killer in the UK and, despite killing twice as many women as breast cancer, heart disease is often misdiagnosed among the gender. It’s also the leading cause of heart attacks – when part of the heart suddenly loses its blood supply.

A healthy diet is one of the key ways to reduce your risk. But, even if your diet is far from perfect, it’s worth knowing which foods you should be trying to cut back on to keep your heart pumping at full strength.

1. Bacon sandwiches

Limit to: Once a week

Or swap to: Chicken, lean beef or pork, egg or tuna sandwiches

You can’t beat a mountain of bacon stuffed between two slices of white bread. But made with four rashers, it contains around 6.6g of saturated fat. That’s before you’ve even added a good spread of butter or doused it in your choice of sauce. 

A diet high in saturated fat is one of the biggest contributors to poor heart health. For this reason, men are told to eat no more than 30g daily, while women are meant to stick to 20g – but less is better.

“Eating too much saturated fat reduces the liver’s ability to remove LDL (bad) cholesterol from the blood,” explains Tracy Parker, a dietitian and nutrition lead at the British Heart Foundation. “This leads to a build-up of fatty material in the walls of blood vessels, which narrows them and reduces blood flow to the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.”

As well as bacon, other foods high in saturated fat – so also worth limiting – are sausages (about 9.8g per two), burgers (9.8g), butter (7.8g per tablespoon) and coconut oil (13g per tablespoon).

“A bacon sandwich once a week can be part of a healthy diet if you balance it with nutritious foods and healthier cooking methods,” says Parker. “Choose grilled lean unsmoked bacon, limit it to two rashers and use wholegrain bread instead of buttered white bread.” However, it is still better to opt for healthier sandwich fillings, such as roast chicken breast, lean beef or pork, eggs and fish, she adds.

2. Crisps

Limit to: An occasional treat

Or swap to: A handful of unsalted nuts or popcorn

The majority of us tuck into crisps at least once a week but, as they’re high in salt (around 0.3g per 25g pack), they may contribute to heart disease. We’re supposed to have no more than 6g per day, with less being healthier.