41 Foods That Are Bad for Your Heart

Another food on the AHA’s salty six, just one pizza slice piled high with toppings like pepperoni, sausage, pickled jalapenos and cheese, can disguise 50 per cent or more of your daily sodium. If you pick pizza for dinner and order delivery, focus on the fresh vegetables and light on the cheese.

38 Marinara sauce

While you’re shifting your slice, consider the tomato sauce, too. The average half-cup of marinara packs 400 milligrams of sodium and 4 grams of sugar. Try low-sodium marinara sauce or trade olive oil for sauce on your DIY pizza.

39 Sugary Candy

Sour gummies. Hard candies. Jelly beans. All these candy culprits and other sweet snacks significantly contribute to the fact that most American adults score more than 10 per cent of their daily calories from added sugars. Those who fell below the 10 per cent mark had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to research in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

40 Alcohol

“Everything in moderation,” Batayneh says. “But if you already suffer from high blood pressure or know that you have high triglycerides, then drinking alcohol can boost your odds of heart disease.”

Additionally, heavy drinking adds calories to your daily diet, which can lead to weight gain, a factor that’s also linked to developing heart disease and high blood pressure.