Heart Healthy Diet and Substitutions

A high-fat, high-cholesterol diet causes your body to produce more cholesterol. Too much cholesterol can cause formation of fatty deposits. The fatty deposits may cause a narrowing or block of the blood vessels. If an artery is blocked, a heart attack can occur.

Benefits of a Heart Healthy Diet
	Reduce blood cholesterol
	Control blood pressure
	Help with weight management

Guidelines of a Heart Healthy Diet
	Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
	Limit total fat intake to less than 30% of calories.
	Limit saturated fat intake to less than 10% of calories.
	Limit dietary cholesterol to less than 300 mg per day.
	Limit sodium to less than 2400 mg per day.

Sources of Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
to Limit in the Diet

Tips for a Heart Healthy Diet
	Read the Nutrition Facts on the food label.
	Decrease use of added fats such as gravy, butter or margarine, salad dressing, cream sauces, oils, sour cream and mayonnaise.
	Instead of whole milk or 2% milk, drink skim or 1% milk.
	Avoid fried foods - choose baked, broiled, steamed or grilled.
	Limit egg yolks to less than four per week.

Heart Healthy Substitutions
To decrease fat and cholesterol in your diet.
 
Tips for making smart substitutions
Make one or two substitutions at a time. Making too many substitutions may change the original texture or taste.
 
Look for substitution suggestions on the packages of food items.
 
Measure amounts of substitutions closely.
 
Be creative. Don't be afraid to try a substitution.
 
When you find substitutions that you like, write them down for next time.
 
Obtain substitution ideas from cookbooks, magazines, and from friends.
 
See the table below for suggestions on substituting in your favorite recipes.

Heart Healthy Substitutions
Instead of:	Choose:
1 whole egg	1/4 cup egg substitute  1 egg white plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil  2 egg whites
1 cup butter or 1 cup vegetable shortening	1 cup soft tub polyunsaturated margarine made from preferred oils: canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower
1 cup whole milk	1 cup skim or 1 % milk
1 cup light cream	1 cup evaporated skim milk  3 tablespoons vegetable oil and skim milk to equal 1 cup
1 cup heavy cream	1 cup evaporated skim milk  1 cup skim or 1 % milk
1 cup sour cream	1 cup non-fat plain yogurt  1 cup non-fat sour cream  1 cup non-fat cottage cheese whipped in a blender to a smooth consistency, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 oz. regular cheese	1 oz. low fat or skim milk cheese (example: part skim mozzarella)
1 tablespoon salad dressing	1 tablespoon low fat or fat free salad dressing
8 oz. cream cheese	8 ounces nonfat cottage cheese  8 ounces light cream cheese  8 ounces fat free cream cheese  4 ounces skim ricotta cheese plus 4 ounces tofu
ice cream	low fat/nonfat ice cream  nonfat frozen yogurt  blended frozen fruit and nonfat yogurt
cream sauces	marinara, clam, or tomato sauce with no meat  blended nonfat yogurt, lemon, garlic, and parmesan
1/2 cup oil	1/2 cup applesauce  1/2 cup applesauce plus 1/4 cup skim milk  1/2 cup prune puree
1 oz. (1 square) baking chocolate	3 tablespoons cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

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Last updated September 18, 2002