Nutrition Position Statements

Heart Healthy Eating Patterns

Poor diet is a leading risk factor for heart disease and current eating patterns are contributing to ill health in Australia.  

Meat & Heart Healthy Eating

This position statement explores the evidence around the consumption of unprocessed meat and poultry, which are not as beneficial a source of protein as fish and legumes. It makes recommendations for the place of meat in heart healthy eating. 

Eggs & Heart Healthy Eating 

The evidence on the relationship between eating eggs and the risk of heart disease has changed in recent years and this position statement summarises the current evidence and outlines our recommendations for eating eggs as part of a healthy diet. 

Dairy & Heart Healthy Eating

Dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and cheese can be a part of a healthy eating pattern, as long as they are not the main source of fat. In this position statement, we look at the current evidence and present our recommendations for the role that dairy can play in heart healthy eating.  

Dietary Fat & Heart Healthy Eating

Australians need to significantly change their current eating patterns to improve heart health, particularly in the area of the sources and types of fat we consume.  

The Heart Foundation has commissioned or led several reviews relating to the intake of dietary fat and heart health. They form the basis for the recommendations in this position statement.

Salt

The majority of Australians are consuming salt at levels that are higher than the current recommended daily intake. 

In this position statement, we look at which foods are contribute to this and outline a heart healthy diet that is naturally low in salt. We also provide recommendations on how much salt is considered safe for people to have in their diet to reduce heart disease risk factors, including high blood pressure. 

Fish & Seafood

The current evidence shows that people who have a diet high in fish tend to have lower risks of a range of chronic health conditions, including heart disease. The Heart Foundation recommends that all Australians try to eat two to three servings of fish per week. 

The recommendations we provide in this position statement are based on commissioned evidence, other reputable guidelines and an analysis of Australian dietary intake. 

Phytosterol/stanol enriched foods

Adult Australians with a high risk of heart disease can reduce their cholesterol by eating phytosterols that occur naturally in plant foods, as well as plant sterol enriched foods.  

We developed this position statement to help health professionals and the general public better understand the role of phytosterol/stanol enriched foods in lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease. 

Heart Foundation nutrition recommendations (2019)

In 2019, we released three new evidence papers that updated our advice on eggs, dairy foods and red meat for healthy Australians. This added to our recommendations on dietary fat (2018) and heart healthy eating patterns (2016). 
This resource summarises these changes, explains how they fit in with our general nutrition advice, and gives advice for specific patient groups.

Alcohol

This position statement summarises the contemporary evidence on the association between alcohol and cardiovascular health and makes recommendations on alcohol consumption limits for different groups.

The recommendations we provide in this position statement are based on the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Australian Guideline to reduce risks from drinking alcohol (2020) and a review of the evidence into secondary prevention of heart disease.