What could be the best diet for your heart health? Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified heart surgeon, in a conversation with Dr Mark Hyman, emphasised that personal nutrition is the primary foundation of heart health.
The best diet for heart health
In an Instagram post shared on August 6, Dr London elaborated on what it takes to take care of our heart, giving a farming metaphor: “If a farmer looks out on his fields and all of the plants are sick, if all of your crops are sick, where’s the first place they look? It’s in the soil. What are we feeding the plants?”
He stressed that, just like a farmer, humans must prioritise a whole-foods diet while strictly avoiding ultra-processed foods and saturated fats. Asking the poignant question: “Could preventing heart disease be simpler than we’ve been led to believe?” he added, “Heart disease isn’t caused by one bad lab value or one isolated risk factor. Your diet, movement, sleep, stress, blood sugar, blood pressure, and even your relationships all influence the same biological systems.”
Be mindful of what you’re putting in your mouth
Moreover, the heart surgeon stressed that your body is one interconnected ecosystem, and that when you improve the environment in which your cells live, you can dramatically reduce your risk.
Unpacking why so many people who look healthy still end up having heart attacks, and what we should actually be measuring to prevent them, he stressed, “I think that being mindful of what you’re putting in your mouth, focusing on a whole-foods diet, limiting ultra-processed foods, and limiting saturated fats in your diet is essential.”
Additionally, he cautioned that in an age when health information is easily available online, one has to be careful with fringe or extreme choices, because one always has to be mindful of what one is substituting for.
“I think that’s a great place to start because it is something we have such control over, and our gut is such a primary source. While we do not fully understand the microbiome by any stretch of the imagination, the principle holds: what we feed ourselves is the information we give our bodies to live on. Most of us can connect those dots, and when you are thoughtful about it, you simply feel better,” Dr London shared.
The choices you make every day shape the health of your heart for decades to come.
About the expert
Dr Jeremy London is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with more than 25 years of experience. He has an MD from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, and his focus is on the intersection of lifestyle, preventive medicine, and evidence-based longevity.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
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