7 Unhealthy Foods For Your Heart

Heart health is achievable. If you make small changes every day, you will have long term health when it comes to your heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women. There are 720,000 deaths every year as a result of heart attacks. This month, we need to educate and push people to think about lifestyle changes and prevention when it comes to heart disease. There are many small changes you can make today to help your heart. I have a great mnemonic for you to help remember and please pass this along to your children.

Of course, everything in moderation is key. Eating a little bit of these foods won't hurt you but it's important to keep portion control in check. 

FRENCH FRIES: No friend food is heart healthy or healthy at all. The high levels of saturated and trans fat overcome any protein or fiber value. The case with french fries is even worse because they're essentially a pure chunk of carbs and then fried with added salt. The problem lies in the excessive cravings our bodies have for sodium and fat. 

SAUSAGE: Processed meats are never going to be good for the heart. Think bacon, ham, pork rinds, hot dogs. All of these increase your risk for heart failure. Sausage tends to be much worse than bacon because of its higher saturated fat content. 

RED MEAT: Red meats have much higher amount of cholesterol and saturated fat as well as another chemical called L-carnitine. Cardiologists ask patients to limit even lean red meat to less than 10% of the average diet. The same goes for pork chops as well. 

POTATO CHIPS: Think Lays and even corn chips. These snackable favorites are packed with carbs, high in trans fat and have excess amounts of sodium. 

PIZZA: The problem with this food favorite is you're eating high amounts of three not-so-healthy food choices: bread, cheese and sodium. There's a ton of fat in both the oil and pizza crust.  Try ordering a whole wheat pizza crust with olive oil, goat cheese and sliced tomatoes. 

CHINESE FOOD: Chinese is the most fattening takeout order you can get. All of the food options contain excess amounts of sodium, fat and oil. The American Heart Association even put together a guide for the levels of sodium in Chinese food. 

CANNED SOUP: Chock full of sodium, sodium nitrates and preservatives, even those tiny cans of Campbell's contain 600-800 mg of sodium a can. Only 10% of the salt we eat comes from the shaker, the other 90% is hidden in our foods and canned soup is one of the top culprits.