This AHA scientific statement updates food-based guidance for cardiovascular health with seven practical pillars: energy balance, abundant vegetables and fruit, mostly whole grains, healthy protein sources, unsaturated over saturated fats, less ultra-processed food, and less sodium and added sugar. It deliberately emphasises dietary pattern over isolated nutrients — relevant simultaneously for prevention, CKM syndrome, and oncology.
Poor diet quality is strongly associated with elevated cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality risk. This American Heart Association scientific statement for food-based cardiovascular health optimization and cardiovascular disease risk reduction guidance summarizes available evidence and provides contextual guidance for the key features of heart-healthy dietary patterns. It enumerates collateral benefits of adopting a heart-healthy dietary pattern in terms of nutrient intake adequacy and compatibility with other chronic disease risk reduction guidance. The features of a heart-healthy dietary pattern include (1) adjusting energy intake and expenditure to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight; (2) eating plenty of vegetables and fruits and choosing a wide variety; (3) choosing foods made mostly with whole grains rather than refined grains; (4) choosing healthy sources of protein; (5) choosing sources of unsaturated fats in place of sources of saturated fat; (6) choosing minim
