Looking after your heart
Healthier eating for a healthier heart
Help keep your heart in great shape by enjoying a healthy diet, being physically active and controlling other risk factors, such as smoking, stress and high blood pressure.
A healthy diet is low in fat, sugar and salt and includes plenty of fruit, vegetables and wholegrain foods.
The Eatwell plate
All foods can be part of a healthy diet, but it’s the right balance and variety of foods that is important for health.
The Eatwell plate shows the proportions needed for a healthy balanced diet.
Foods from the largest groups should be eaten most often.
Find out more:
Bread, other cereals and potatoes
At each meal include foods such as cereals, rice, pasta, bread or potato, which are high in fibre and low in fat.
Try using porridge oats, granary, wholegrain or rye breads and Sainsbury’s wholegrain cereals.
Fruit and vegetables
These are packed full of fibre and antioxidants. Aim to eat a variety of 5 portions a-day.
- Vary the type and colour of fruit and veg to get different vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
- Fresh, frozen, canned and dried all count, as do 100% juices.
- Look out for the 5-a-day symbol. Tasty ideas for getting your 5-a-day...
What’s a portion?
1 whole fruit (eg apple); a handful of grapes; a cereal bowl of salad; 2 small fruits (eg plums); 3 heaped tablespoons vegetables; 150ml glass of 100% juice; 1 heaped tablespoon dried fruit.
Dried fruit and fruit juice only count as 1 portion each, no matter how many you have.
Meat, fish and alternatives (lentils, pulses, eggs, nuts)
Eat in moderation. Reduce saturated fat, found in sausages, meat pies and chicken skin.
- Try to eat 2 portions of fish a week, one of which should be oil-rich (women of child-bearing age should not eat more than 2 portions of oil-rich fish per week as they can contain high levels of chemicals called dioxins), such as mackerel, fresh tuna or salmon. These contain omega-3 fats, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Lentils and pulses contain fibre and, eaten regularly, can help reduce your cholesterol levels. Use them instead of meat and add to salads, stews and curries.
- Choose lean cuts of meat and chicken without the skin.
What’s a typical portion?
50-100g lean red meat, poultry or oily fish; 100- 150g cooked white fish; 2 tablespoons nuts; 1-2 eggs; 3 tablespoons beans, lentils, pulses or dahl.
Milk and dairy foods
These are a rich source of calcium and one of the easiest ways to achieve your daily calcium requirements is to consume 3 portions.
- Replace full-fat milk with skimmed or semi-skimmed milk.
- Choose lower-fat cheese, such as Edam or reduced-fat Cheddar.
What’s a typical portion?
200ml glass of milk; 150g pot of yogurt; 40g hard cheese; 2 tablespoons cottage cheese.
Foods containing fats and foods containing sugars
Reduce saturated fats and sugary foods.
- Use small amounts of unsaturated spreads and oils, especially monounsaturated varieties – try olive and rapeseed oils.
- Cut down on foods such as biscuits, cakes, fast food and hard margarines as they may contain hydrogenated fats, which can increase cholesterol levels. Sainsbury’s own-brand food contains no hydrogenated fats.
- Try reduced- and lower-fat products, such as those in our Be good to yourself range.
- Use less oil in cooking - try using oil sprays and non-stick frying pans.
Saturated and unsaturated fats – what’s the difference?
- Saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol levels, which may increase your risk of heart disease, so limit foods containing these. They’re found mostly in animal foods like butter, lard, ghee, fatty meat, poultry skin, full-fat dairy products, pies, cakes and biscuits, and also in coconut and palm oil.
- Unsaturated fat can help lower your blood cholesterol levels:
- monounsaturated fats are found in olive, rapeseed and walnut oils and spreads, avocados and some nuts and seeds.
- polyunsaturated fats are found in sunflower, soya and corn oils and spreads.
What about cholesterol?
Although some foods, such as eggs, liver and prawns, are naturally high in cholesterol, the cholesterol in these foods only has a small effect on your blood cholesterol level. To reduce your cholesterol level, it is much more important to reduce foods that are high in saturated fat.
What about salt?
We should try to eat no more than 6g salt per day. So look out for lower salt products.
- Choose foods with a green traffic light label for salt.
- Try to use less salt in cooking and at the table.
Label reading
Multiple traffic-light labelling
Sainsbury’s multiple traffic-light labelling on the front of food and drink tells you at a glance if the food has high (red), medium (amber) or low (green) amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories. To make a healthier choice, try and go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds.
Nutritional know-how
The nutrition panel on the back of pack can help you make sure you enjoy a balanced diet. It shows the amount of different nutrients that particular food or drink provides per 100g – where space permits, we also give this information per serving.
We've used the traffic-light colour coding for the nutrition panel. You’ll also find Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) on products. These are a guide to the daily amount of nutrients the average adult or child (5–10 years) should have in their diet. They show what percentage of your GDA is in a portion of a product, so you can see the nutritional contribution it makes to your diet.
Sainsbury's be good to your self range
Our be good to yourself range is all about balance. We’ve controlled the amount of fat, sugar and salt in all food and drinks in this range.
When you see the apple stamp, it means you’ve found a healthier option to try.
This information is a guide only and should not replace advice given from your healthcare professional.
