American Heart Association Guidelines

The AHA Guidelines suggest these are the first steps in heart-healthy nutrition:

For a list of definitions of fats and cholesterol, see Cholesterol

• Saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid intake should be less than 10 percent of calories (less than 7% if you have heart disease, have had a heart attack or have high cholesterol).

• Polyunsaturated fatty acid intake should be 8 to 10 percent of calories.

• Monounsaturated fatty acids make up the rest of the total fat intake, about 10 to 15 percent of total calories.

• Total fat intake should be no more than 30 percent of calories.

• Cholesterol intake should be less than 300 milligrams per day.

• Sodium intake should be no more than 2,400 milligrams (2.4 grams) per day.

The Step Diets

In October 2000, the AHA dropped the "Step I" and "Step II" designations. However, the revised guidelines retain the principles of the Step I and Step II diets. They put more emphasis on foods than on percentages of food components, such as fat, cholesterol, etc.

We have included them because if you are new at watching what you eat, the Step Diets give simple total breakdowns of amounts to use as a goal.

AHA Scientific Position

The American Heart Association and the National Cholesterol Education Program developed the Step I and Step II diets to treat high blood cholesterol, or hypercholesterolemia (hi"per-ko-les"ter-ol-E'me-ah). The main aim is to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, which causes heart attack. The guidelines help patients sets goals for reducing saturated fat and cholesterol in their diet. At the same time, they promote good nutrition. The composition of these diets is shown below.

	Recommended Intake as Percent of Total Calories
Nutrient*	Step I Diet	Step II Diet
Total Fat	30% or less	30% or less
Saturated	7 - 10%	less than 7%
Polyunsaturated	Up to 10%	Up to 10%
Monounsaturated	Up to 15%	Up to 15%
Carbohydrate	55% or more	55% or more
Protein	Approximately 15%	Approximately 15%
Cholesterol	Less than 300 mg per day	Less than 200 mg per day
Total Calories	To achieve and maintain desired weight	To achieve and maintain desired weight
* Calories from alcohol not included.

What are recommended amounts of total fat and saturated fat in grams?

Calorie Level	Total Fat (Grams)	Step I Diet Saturated Fatty Acid (Grams)	Step II Diet Saturated Fatty Acid (Grams)
1200	40 or less	9 - 13	less than 9
1500	50 or less	12 - 17	less than 12
1800	60 or less	14 - 20	less than 14
2000	67 or less	16 - 22	less than 16
2200	73 or less	17 - 24	less than 17
2500	83 or less	19 - 28	less than 19
3000	100 or less	23 - 33	less than 23