When you buy groceries, it’s important to look at the food labels to understand how that food can impact your diet. Understanding these labels can be confusing, and what seems like a healthy choice can contribute to heart disease or other health issues. Here are the nutrition label ingredients to avoid and why.

1. High Sugar

When you’re looking at food nutrition labels, start with the serving information, calories per serving, nutrient intake and daily value to make more informed and health-conscious decisions.

For most Americans, daily sugar intake is consumed through beverages, baked goods, desserts and sweets. There are two types of sugar intake — natural and added. These make up a total amount of sugar. There is no official recommended amount of sugar intake but added sugars have a daily value of 50 grams per day based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet. Added sugars serve no nutritional value.

The daily intake of added sugar is increasing, and the primary source is sweetened beverages. Increased sugar intake is a major contributing factor to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Among women, added sugar intake exceeding 15% of daily energy was associated with an 8% increased risk of CVD and a 20% rise in coronary artery disease risk.

Replace sugary drinks with carbonated water or natural fruit juice. Another way to cut down on added sugar is to adopt a plant-based diet. These diets improve brain, eye and heart health and help control polycystic ovary syndrome.

2. Excessive Sodium

The global mean sodium intake for adults is 4,310 milligrams per day, almost double the recommended intake. While your body needs sodium to function, the recommended intake is less than five grams daily, which is just under a teaspoon. This recommendation varies for children. Most suggest that children have less sodium based on their energy levels.

Avoid processed foods and instant products like sauces and dressings to reduce sodium intake. Canned foods are high in sodium as they are highly processed to increase preservation. Most canned soup has 700 milligrams of sodium on average. Canned meats, poultry and seafood contain more sodium compared to fresh produce or protein. Pizza, bread, processed cheese and ready-to-eat meals are also high in sodium.

If you’re already trying to control diabetes by removing sugar from your diet, having an excess amount of sodium can reverse these attempts, which doubles your risk of CVD from sugar and salt.

3. Saturated Fats

Fats give your body energy, keep it warm and stimulate your brain. However, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing, which is why you need to find a balance. Men shouldn’t exceed an intake of 30 grams and women should limit their intake to 20 grams daily.

There are saturated and unsaturated fats, better known as unhealthy and healthy fats. Saturated fats need to be limited to prevent increased CVD risk and high cholesterol. Most saturated fats come from animal foods like meat, poultry and dairy.

Unsaturated fats can be broken into two types — monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. These healthy fats are found in foods like avocados and peanuts, among others. Pumpkin seeds contain heart-healthy saturated fat and magnesium, which supports your heart health. These seeds also contain phosphorus, which can regulate your heartbeat.

Master Nutrition Labels To Help Your Heart

Consider the daily value intake on the nutrition label before buying foods that are processed and high in sodium, sugar or saturated fats. Look for healthy alternatives or eat and drink these items in moderation to help your heart stay healthy.

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Beth, the Managing Editor and content manager at Body+Mind, is well-respected in the mental health, nutrition and fitness spaces. In her spare time, Beth enjoys cooking and going for runs with her dog.

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