5 Foods that Seriously Hurt Your Heart

The foods that seriously harm your heart are the variety that contain trans fats, conservatives and added sugars. They can even be found in lighter versions of food, which is why you should read food labels carefully when shopping.
5 Foods that Seriously Hurt Your Heart

Written by Ángela Aragón

Last update: 13 August, 2023

Heart health is fundamental for healthy living. We all know that it’s the body ‘s engine, but do we take care of it as we should? The truth is that we often don’t.

There’s no denying that there’s a strong link between being happy and being healthy, but it’s not always the whole story. There are times when we make mistakes in our exercise habits or diets.

This is why we’d like to show you a few foods that harm your heart. By reading our post, you’ll be able to know whether you’re eating right or not.

The foods that harm your heart

1. American cheese

foods that harm your heart

Cheese in itself is a complicated food product, especially if it’s cow milk cheese and well-aged. The reason why lies in its excessive fat content.

However, yellow cheese, or American cheese, is an even riskier option because it’s so processed. They even add a vegetable-based colorant to achieve that color.

  • First off, the fat raises blood density, which requires the heart to work harder under more pressure.
  • Furthermore, sodium increases your heart rate when its consumption is excessive.

As is the case with any other muscle, this leads to damage over time. This is exactly why we need to keep it balanced.

2. Diet beverages

Diet beverages are a clear example of what we mentioned at the beginning of our post. We drink them knowing that they don’t make us gain weight. However, they harm us through other ways that are just as dangerous.

Besides containing sodium, artificial sweeteners aren’t as healthy as we may have thought.

It’s easy to get hooked on to these beverages because of their sweet flavor. In the advertisements, their selling point is that they conserve that taste we crave while helping us maintain our figure at the same time.

However, a study has shown that they often lead to cardiovascular problems in the long term.

3. Energy bars

Energy bars

It’s easy to see why energy bars are so useful: they’re great for providing an extra dose of energy. However, in order to deliver, they frequently contain hydrogenated fats that raise cholesterol levels.

  • Bad cholesterol (LDL) thickens blood, which hinders it from circulating freely. The heart also feels the damages because it needs to work much harder to do its job.
  • In addition, thw arteries also suffer from high density because they’re not prepared to handle it.
  • All of the above can lead up to some degree of arteriosclerosis.

However, if you exercise or if you have an active lifestyle, you can try making your own energy bars. By making homemade bars, you can eliminate hydrogenated fats and conservatives.

4. Margarine

Besides the fact that margarine comes from whole milk, which already contains unhealthy fats, it also contains alternative milks as well.

The latter contain genetically modified elements that make them literal time-bombs.

Keep in mind that light margarine products aren’t an exception. Even though they’re lighter in calories, the synthetic ingredients are still ever present. So, every kind of margarine is a food product that is harmful for your heart.

5. Canned foods

Canned foods

Be weary of conservatives, especially butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a healthy food: as soon as these conservatives are used, the food isn’t healthy anymore. To get an idea, let’s consider the poisoned apple in Snow White.

These substances can turn even the healthiest food into poison.

This is why eating these kinds of food products as little as possible is crucial. We know that time and money can make it difficult sometimes to consume fresh food products.

Whatever your case might be, we recommend that you always heed our warning about conservatives. Remembering it will help you lean towards more natural and homemade options when you have some spare time or cash.

As you’ve read, even diet products can be harmful for heart health. Calories aren’t the only thing that endanger it. There are many other aspects that we should always keep in mind.

This is exactly why medical experts advise to always read the product labels.


This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.