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A healthy diet and lifestyle are the keys to preventing and managing cardiovascular disease. It’s not as hard as you may think. Remember, it’s the overall pattern of your choices that counts. Make the simple steps below part of your life for long-term benefits to your health and your heart.

Use up at least as many calories as you take in.

• Start by knowing how many calories you should eat and drink to maintain your weight. Nutrition and calorie information on food labels is typically based on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. You may need fewer or more calories depending on several factors including age, gender, height, weight, level of physical activity and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (or an equal combination of both) each week. Ideally, your activity should be spread throughout the week.
• Increase the amount and intensity of your physical activity to burn more calories.

Regular physical activity can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight, keep off weight that you lose and reach physical and cardiovascular fitness. If it’s hard to schedule regular exercise, look for ways to build short bursts of activity into your daily routine such as parking farther away and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Try incorporating muscle-strengthening activity at least twice a week. You can do these workouts separately from your cardio activity or add resistance to an existing workout.

Eat an overall healthy dietary pattern that includes:

• A wide variety of vegetables and fruits
• Whole grains and products made up mostly of whole grains rather than refined grains
• Healthy sources of protein (Shift from meat to plant sources like beans, peas, lentils and nuts, regularly consume fish and seafood, select low-fat or fat-free dairy products instead of full-fat dairy products and if you like meat, choose skinless and lean cuts, minimizing processed forms and portions)
• Sources of unsaturated fat such as non-tropical liquid plant oils in place of sources of saturated fat found in foods like coconut oil, butter and fatty meats.
• Whole foods and minimally processed foods instead of ultraprocessed foods
• Minimized intake of added sugars from beverages and foods
• Foods low in sodium and prepared with little or no salt 
• If you don’t drink alcohol, don’t start and if you do, limit your intake.

Apply this guidance wherever food is prepared or consumed.

It is possible to follow a heart-healthy dietary pattern regardless of whether food is prepared at home, ordered in a restaurant or online, or purchased as a prepared meal. Read the Nutrition Facts and ingredient list on packaged food labels to choose those with less sodium, added sugars and saturated fat. Look for the Heart-Check mark to find foods that have been certified by the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ as heart-healthy.