The Population Health Research Institute came up with a list of heart healthy foods to serve as a guide for people to eat better.  The list was a result of studies about good and bad food published in the past.  When a certain food or diet showed a strong link with better heart health and appeared in multiple studies, that food or diet was put at the top of the “good” list, while foods linked to an increased risk of heart disease was place on the “bad” list.

The good list contains vegetable, nuts, legumes, fruits, whole grains, cheese, yogurt and fish that were all previously studied and shows strong evidence of lowering the risk of heart disease.  Other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, alcohol, Vitamins E and C, beta carotene and folate also showed moderate evidences of lowering the risk of heart diseases.

The typical Western diet consisting of red meats, refined grains, high-fat dairy, baked and fried foods showed to raise the risk of heart disease.  The study also showed a gray area where foods like milk and eggs prove to show a causal relationship between only a few dietary exposures and coronary heart disease when combined together.

So to prevent the risk of heart disease, everyone should consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables, fish and whole grains and stay away from red meats and foods high in Trans fat.