If you’re looking to improve your overall wellness, incorporating heart-healthy foods into your diet is a must. But several unexpected bites you might regularly consume could be sabotaging your efforts.
Sugar-laden eats, alcohol, and fried foods are obvious choices to nix from your diet in the name of longevity, but doctors have another to add to that list: Processed meats.
Meet the expert: Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic
Lunch meats, bacon, sausages, jerky, and canned meats are all potentially harmful to your heart health if eaten in excess, experts say. “Many studies have shown their toll on health and increasing the risk for heart disease,” Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, previously told Prevention in a conversation about the foods you should not eat. “Many of the substances used in the process to preserve meat have been shown to increase the risk for cancer, hypertension, and other health conditions.”
A 2021 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tracked the meat consumption of 135,000 people and found that consuming processed meat significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. More specifically, the study found that eating 150 grams or more of processed meat per week increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 46% and the risk of early death by 50%, compared to eating no processed meat. The study authors also noted that processed meat consists of any type of meat that is “salted, cured, or treated with preservatives and/or food additives.”
While removing foods like processed meats from your diet (or limiting them) is a great way to stay healthy, keeping your heart health in check requires a multifaceted approach consisting of not only a healthy diet but also proper exercise and lifestyle choices.
If you’re looking for even more ways to protect your heart, try taking our heart health quiz to see how well you know the organ. From there, check out cardiologist-recommended heart health tips and the best heart health diets, according to the American Heart Association.