Eating the Right Foods to Protect Your Blood Vessels: Dietary Tips for Preventing High Cholesterol, Artery Blockage, and Diabetes

​Eating the Right Foods to Protect Your Blood Vessels: Dietary Tips for Preventing High Cholesterol, Artery Blockage, and Diabetes

As we get older, many of us begin to pay more attention to several common health concerns: high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, blocked arteries, elevated blood sugar, and diabetes.

Although these conditions are different, they have many things in common when it comes to diet. In simple terms, we should reduce excessive saturated fat, refined carbohydrates, added sugar, and highly processed foods, while eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, beans, and other high-fiber foods. It is also important to control portion sizes and maintain a healthy weight.

The American Heart Association’s 2026 dietary guidance emphasizes eating more vegetables and fruits, choosing whole grains instead of refined grains, selecting healthy sources of protein and unsaturated fats, and reducing added sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and highly processed foods. This type of eating pattern is beneficial for cardiovascular health and is also consistent with dietary recommendations for managing and preventing type 2 diabetes.

1. Eat More Fish, Especially Fish Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids

If your doctor has recommended eating more fish, this is a habit worth maintaining.

Fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, and sardines are relatively rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week, particularly replacing some higher-fat meats with fish.

Another advantage of fish is that it provides high-quality protein while many types of fish contain less saturated fat than fatty cuts of beef or pork.

Instead of regularly eating a large portion of fatty beef or pork, consider replacing some of those meals with:

• Salmon
• Trout
• Mackerel
• Sardines
• Tuna
• Other fresh fish

The way fish is prepared also matters. Steaming, baking, boiling, and stewing are generally better choices than deep-frying.

2. Chicken Is a Good Choice, but Remove the Skin

Chicken is also an excellent source of protein.

When eating chicken, consider choosing skinless chicken breast or other lean cuts. Chicken skin and fatty portions contain more saturated fat.

Therefore, “eat more chicken” does not mean eating large amounts of fried chicken. It means choosing healthier ways to prepare chicken, such as:

Steaming, stewing, baking, boiling, or stir-frying with a small amount of oil.

The National Institutes of Health recommends choosing skinless poultry, fish, beans, nuts, and other healthy protein sources as part of a heart-healthy diet.

3. Eat Less Beef, Pork, and Other Red Meat

This does not mean that you can never eat beef or pork again. Instead, it is better to reduce the frequency and portion size and choose leaner cuts whenever possible.

Beef, pork, lamb, and processed meats can contain significant amounts of saturated fat. Too much saturated fat can raise LDL cholesterol, commonly known as “bad cholesterol.” High LDL levels are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

So, a simple change in eating habits could be:

Before:

Beef and pork were frequently the main sources of protein.

Now:

Eat more fish, skinless chicken, tofu, beans, nuts, and other healthier protein sources, while reducing the amount of red meat.

If you eat beef or pork, choose lean cuts, trim visible fat, and control the portion size.

4. You Don’t Have to Give Up Rice—Just Control the Amount

For many Chinese families, a typical meal may include a large bowl of rice with several dishes.

For people who need to control their blood sugar or weight, the issue is not that “rice is bad.” The bigger concern is that eating too much refined carbohydrate can significantly increase the amount of carbohydrates consumed in one meal.

The American Heart Association recommends choosing whole grains instead of refined grains whenever possible. Diabetes dietary recommendations similarly emphasize portion control and choosing whole grains.

Therefore, instead of completely eliminating rice, a more practical approach is:

Eat a little less rice and more vegetables and protein.

For example, you can use the following simple “plate method”:

• ½ of the plate: vegetables
• ¼ of the plate: protein
• ¼ of the plate: rice, whole grains, or other healthy carbohydrates

If you normally eat white rice, you can gradually reduce the proportion of white rice and add brown rice, oats, or other whole grains.

5. Tofu Is a Food Worth Keeping in Your Diet

Tofu is a traditional Chinese food and is also a convenient source of plant-based protein.

It can replace some meat in meals, for example:

• Tofu stir-fried with vegetables
• Tofu cooked with fish
• Tofu soup
• Cold tofu with vegetables
• Tofu with mushrooms and leafy greens

The American Heart Association lists tofu, beans, peas, and lentils as healthy protein sources that can replace some meats higher in saturated fat.

For Chinese families, this is particularly convenient because tofu, soybeans, black beans, and unsweetened soy milk are already familiar foods.

However, people with diabetes should still pay attention to the nutritional content and portion sizes of different soy products, especially sweetened soy milk and other sweetened soy foods.

6. Use Olive Oil for Cooking

When choosing cooking oils, consider reducing sources of saturated fat such as butter and lard and using liquid plant oils instead.

Olive oil is an excellent choice.

The American Heart Association recommends using olive oil and other liquid plant oils instead of butter, lard, and other solid fats that contain more saturated fat.

There is one important point to clarify:

This does not mean that avocado oil is unhealthy.

Avocados contain healthy unsaturated fats, and avocado oil is also a plant-based oil. From a cardiovascular-health perspective, the key is to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats rather than simply declaring one healthy plant oil to be the only “best” choice.

Therefore, if your family already uses olive oil regularly, it can certainly be used as one of your primary cooking oils.

However, even healthy oils should be used in moderation. Healthy oil is still high in calories.

7. Eat Plenty of Vegetables, Especially Non-Starchy Vegetables

If you want to take care of your cholesterol, blood sugar, and cardiovascular health at the same time, vegetables should make up an important part of your daily diet.

Examples include:

• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Chinese broccoli
• Napa cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Bell peppers
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Mushrooms
• Eggplant
• Lettuce

These vegetables generally provide plenty of dietary fiber and nutrients while containing relatively fewer carbohydrates than foods such as rice and noodles.

A simple principle to follow is:

Make sure you have enough vegetables first, then add protein, and finally control the amount of starch or grains.

8. Oatmeal, Beans, and Whole Grains Can Help Lower Cholesterol

If you are concerned about high cholesterol, dietary fiber deserves special attention.

NIH recommendations for cholesterol management emphasize increasing soluble fiber, which is found in foods such as oats, beans, and certain fruits. Soluble fiber can reduce the absorption of cholesterol and fat in the digestive tract and can help lower LDL cholesterol.

For breakfast, consider:

Oatmeal + nuts + a small amount of fruit

instead of:

Sweet bread + jam + a sugary drink.

Beans are also an excellent choice, including:

• Black beans
• Red beans
• Soybeans
• Lentils
• Chickpeas

However, people with diabetes should remember that beans, although very healthy, still contain carbohydrates, so portion size matters.

9. Nuts Are Healthy, but Don’t Eat Too Many

Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, and pistachios contain unsaturated fats, protein, and other nutrients and can be part of a healthy diet.

However, nuts have one important characteristic:

They are healthy, but they are also high in calories.

Therefore, don’t eat handful after handful. Choose raw or unsalted nuts whenever possible and pay attention to portion size.

10. Which Foods Should You Reduce the Most?

If all of these recommendations are condensed into a simple list, the following foods should be limited:

1. Fatty Meat and Processed Meat

For example:

• Pork belly
• Fatty beef
• Sausage
• Bacon
• Ham
• Luncheon meat

2. Fried Foods

For example, fried chicken, French fries, and other deep-fried foods.

3. Sugary Drinks

For example:

• Soda
• Sweetened milk tea
• Sugary coffee
• Sweetened fruit drinks
• Energy drinks

Liquid sugar can be especially problematic because it is easy to consume a large amount of sugar without realizing it.

4. Desserts and High-Sugar Foods

Cakes, cookies, candy, sweet breads, and similar foods should be limited.

5. Highly Processed Foods

The American Heart Association’s current guidance also emphasizes reducing highly processed foods, as well as added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.

A Simple “Heart-Healthy Plate”

If you don’t want to remember a lot of complicated nutrition information, remember this simple principle:

At Each Meal:

½ plate: vegetables

↓

¼ plate: healthy protein

Fish, skinless chicken, tofu, beans

↓

¼ plate: healthy carbohydrates

A small portion of rice, brown rice, oatmeal, whole grains, etc.

↓

A small amount of healthy fat

Olive oil, nuts, fish, etc.

This approach is often more practical for long-term use than simply making a long list of foods that you “can never eat.”

Finally, Remember One Very Important Principle

Preventing high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and type 2 diabetes is not about finding one “magic food.”

What really matters is your overall eating pattern over the long term.

A simple way to summarize it is:

Eat more fish, chicken, tofu, and beans; eat plenty of vegetables and whole grains; enjoy moderate amounts of fruit and nuts; use olive oil and other unsaturated fats instead of some animal fats; eat less fatty meat and processed meat; reduce refined carbohydrates and sweets; avoid sugary drinks; and control your portions and total calorie intake.

At the same time, we should not think of “blocked arteries” as something that can simply be “cleaned out” by eating a particular food. A healthy diet can help improve cholesterol, blood sugar, body weight, and overall cardiovascular risk, but existing atherosclerosis requires appropriate evaluation and treatment by a healthcare professional.

For people who already have high cholesterol, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, dietary changes should be made together with their doctor’s treatment plan. They should not stop prescribed medications on their own.

The most important part of healthy eating is not short-term deprivation. It is gradually changing what you eat every day.

Eat a little less fatty meat and rice, and a little more vegetables. Replace one meal of red meat with fish or tofu. Use a moderate amount of olive oil when cooking. Drink one less sugary beverage.

These may seem like small changes, but when maintained over the long term, they can make a meaningful difference.