Following a sensible, balanced diet and including regular exercise can help to maintain heart health.

Below are some tips to help keep your heart healthy.

• Include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.  Aim for 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables a day.
   
• Increase the amount of soluble fibre in your diet. Soluble fibre can help to reduce cholesterol re-absorption and so help to maintain a healthy heart. Soluble fibre is found in grain based products like breads and some breakfast cereals such as Kellogg’s® Guardian®, fruit, vegetables and legumes/beans.
   
• Minimise saturated fat intake. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as fatty meats and sausages, butter, cream, full cream dairy products, in take away foods and commercially baked biscuits and cakes. Coconut milk/cream and palm oil are also high in saturated fat.
   
• Include fish, fresh or canned, in your diet at least twice a week. Choose oily fish where possible like salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel, herring and tuna, as they contain omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for heart health.
   
• Limit your salt intake. Reduce or avoid using salt in cooking and at the table. Also try to choose foods that are low in salt i.e. less than 120mg of sodium per 100g of food.
   
• Keep a healthy weight throughout life and keep physically active.
   
• Don’t smoke.