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Eating an unhealthy diet that is high in fat will make hardening of the arteries worse and increase your risk of a heart attack.
Continuing to eat high-fat foods will cause more fatty plaques to build up in your arteries. This is because fatty foods contain an unhealthy type of cholesterol.
There are 2 main types of cholesterol:
Foods high in saturated fat include:
Replace butter and cheese with products based on vegetable and plant oil, such as olive oil.
Oily fish, such as herring, sardines and salmon, can form part of a Mediterranean-style diet, but there's no need to eat this type of fish specifically to try to prevent another heart attack.
Also, taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, or eating foods fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, has not been found to help prevent another heart attack.
Never take a food supplement without first consulting a GP. Some supplements, such as beta-carotene, are potentially harmful.
Continuing to eat high-fat foods will cause more fatty plaques to build up in your arteries. This is because fatty foods contain an unhealthy type of cholesterol.
There are 2 main types of cholesterol:
- low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – this is mostly made up of fat plus a small amount of protein; this type of cholesterol can block your arteries, so it is often known as "bad cholesterol"
- high-density lipoprotein (HDL) – this is mostly made up of protein plus a small amount of fat; this type of cholesterol can reduce deposits in your arteries, so is often known as "good cholesterol"
Foods high in saturated fat include:
- pies
- fried foods
- sausages and fatty cuts of meat
- butter
- ghee (a type of butter often used in Indian cooking)
- lard
- cream
- hard cheese
- cakes and biscuits
- foods that contain coconut or palm oil
Replace butter and cheese with products based on vegetable and plant oil, such as olive oil.
Oily fish, such as herring, sardines and salmon, can form part of a Mediterranean-style diet, but there's no need to eat this type of fish specifically to try to prevent another heart attack.
Also, taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, or eating foods fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, has not been found to help prevent another heart attack.
Never take a food supplement without first consulting a GP. Some supplements, such as beta-carotene, are potentially harmful.