No-carb and high-protein diets: are they heart healthy?

Very low- or no-carbohydrate and high-protein diets have become very popular recently. They work over a short period of time if your goal is to loose weight. However, these diets are NOT recommended by either the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Heart Association.

These diets usually limit healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, and don't include healthy doses of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

While Southern diet, packed with fried food and sugary drinks, is strongly linked to heart disease, Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, and vegetarian diet are the three diets shown to lower the risk of heart disease and improve memory and brain function.

Mediterranean diet is rich in foods like fish, beans, vegetables, fruits, whole-grain breads, and olive oil. Red meat, cheese, and sweets on the other hand are limited.

Follow the link to get an overview of heart healthy nutrition on CardioSmart from American College of Cardiology.