Limit This Food for Better Heart Health

Many different lifestyle factors can impact your heart health, including the types of foods you eat. And when you’re moving your diet toward a more heart-healthy pattern of eating, one particularly helpful change you can make is decreasing your intake of processed meats, says cardiologist Dean Marella, M.D. Processed meats, which include hot dogs, deli meat, ham, bacon, chicken nuggets and sausages, have been linked to a higher risk of dying from any cause, as well as a higher risk for heart disease. These foods are considered “ultra-processed,” a grouping of foods which has been associated with a significant increase in developing heart disease.

Why Limiting Processed Meats Is Good for Your Heart

It Can Lower Blood Pressure

Meats like bacon, sausage, lunch meats and hot dogs tend to be high in sodium, which is used to preserve these meats and enhance their taste. For example, one hot dog provides about 20% of your recommended daily intake of sodium, making it a high-sodium food. Two ounces of turkey luncheon meat has around the same amount of sodium. Sodium is a concern for your heart because excess sodium contributes to hypertension (high blood pressure), a risk factor for heart disease. On the other hand, reducing sodium intake can help reduce blood pressure, and thus improve heart health.

It Can Support Healthy Cholesterol Levels

Processed meats contain saturated fat, a nutrient that can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels. One study found that adults who consumed a diet high in saturated fat for five weeks had higher LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels than those who consumed a diet low in saturated fat. Since high cholesterol levels can contribute to heart disease, limiting foods high in saturated fat, like processed meats, can help lower your risk.

It Can Reduce Your Risk for Diabetes

Finally, processed red meat consumption is also linked to a greater risk of developing diabetes, research shows. This may be due to the nitrates added to these meats, which are compounds that form during cooking, or excess calorie intake from them and the foods they’re often found in. Replacing processed red meats with unprocessed red meat and poultry then helped lower that likelihood. That’s significant because having diabetes doubles your risk for heart disease.

How to Cut Back on Processed Meats

The first step is to change processed meats’ place in your diet. “They should be viewed as the occasional indulgence, not a daily eating habit,” says Marella. Making small swaps to move your diet to a more minimally processed one can make a large difference. “Better eating habits can meaningfully lower your risk of diabetes, hypertension and bad cholesterol—all major drivers of heart disease,” he says.

Here are a few things you can do:

• Switch up your sandwich. Instead of one made with deli meat, try high-protein sandwiches that are made without meat (but pile on the plants).
• Consider your fast-food order. Reducing your intake of fast food is a smart move, but sometimes you go out. When you do, order meals that feature mostly whole foods, such as these dietitian-recommended options that hit the spot. 
• Make over your pizza. Rather than going out for pizza or buying a frozen pie with pepperoni or sausage, make a pizza at home with lean protein and vegetables.
• Read food labels. When instructing people on how to improve their eating habits, “I tell patients to start by learning the basics of nutrition label reading—shorter ingredient lists and fewer additives usually mean a better choice,” says cardiologist Sergiu Darabant, M.D.
• Revamp your shopping habits. Leave the store without processed meats. “I emphasize the mindset that ‘if you don’t buy it, you don’t eat it,’ because controlling what enters the home is often the biggest step towards success,” says Darabant.

Our Expert Take

Eating fewer processed meats—hot dogs, sausages, deli meat and bacon—can be one step toward a more heart-healthy diet. While these are still fine on occasion, focus on eating more fresh, lean meats like poultry or fish, adding more plant-based foods like vegetables to your meals and reading food labels to choose less-processed versions of the foods you enjoy.