When cardiologists give advice on how to improve your diet for your heart health, they usually mention eating more home-cooked meals. The advice isn’t bad. Research suggests people who eat home-cooked meals consume more whole foods and have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Eating heart-healthy foods is a vital way to protect yourself against heart disease and cardiovascular events, like heart attacks. Cardiovascular disease has long been the top killer of U.S. adults.
However, one cardiologist often tells his patients that “cooking at home” only works if you start with the right ingredients. Making a heart-healthy meal and snack starts at the grocery store, which is why he avoids certain aisles (and spends a lot of time in others).
“If you fill your cart with ultra-processed foods, high-sodium sauces and refined carbs, your home-cooked meals can easily become just as bad for your heart as a fast-food chain,” Dr. Craig Basman, MD, FACC, the associate director of the structural and congenital heart program and director of the structural and congenital fellowship program at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center, tells Parade. “Grocery shopping for success means intentionally stocking your kitchen with whole, nutrient-dense foods so that heart-healthy choices become your easy, default option.”
Indeed, research suggests that foods in the Mediterranean diet can contribute to lower heart disease risk. Think fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats like olive oil and plant-based and lean proteins. However, Dr. Basman warns that other foods don’t help the heart. For this reason, the cardiologist avoids this specific grocery store aisle.
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‘This Is the Grocery Store Aisle I Spend the Least Time in as a Cardiologist’
As a cardiologist, Dr. Basman says he tries to spend as little time as possible in the packaged snack aisle. He shares that many packaged snacks contain too much sodium, added sugars and unhealthy fats, which are linked to risks of higher blood pressure, high cholesterol and chronic inflammation—none of which are good for the heart.
When manufacturers add these heart-unhealthy ingredients to packaged snacks, they try to make the foods shelf-stable and, importantly, highly craveable.
“Food scientists literally design them to be irresistible,” Dr. Basman explains. “Packaged snacks are engineered to hit the ‘bliss point,’ which is a specific, highly researched ratio of salt/sugar/fat that triggers a dopamine rush in the brain.”
Yet it’s not what the heart wants long term.
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5 Ways Packaged Snacks Negatively Impact Heart Health
Dr. Basman knows that the salt, sugar and other ingredients in packaged snacks make them taste good. However, as a cardiologist, he spends little to no time in the snack aisle and advises patients to do the same.
He digs into common packaged snack ingredients, including the items that have them and the problems they can cause for the heart if you consume them too often.
1. You’ll find high sodium loads
Where you’ll find it: Salty staples like potato chips, pretzels and cheese puffs
The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily (ideally 1,500 mg). Unfortunately, salt-loaded snacks like chips often push people over that limit.
“Too much salt causes your body to retain water, driving up your blood pressure—hypertension—and forcing your heart to work much harder,” Dr. Basman says. “Over time, this chronic stress on your blood vessels significantly raises your risk of heart attack and stroke.”
2. You might miss sneaky added sugars
Where you’ll find it: Granola bars, flavored yogurts and fruit snacks
Dr. Basman says that granola bars, flavored yogurts and fruit snacks often “masquerade as health foods.” However, the heart would like a word.
“Current research closely links high added sugar intake to increased systemic inflammation and higher triglycerides, which are fats in your blood,” he warns. “This combination accelerates the buildup of plaque in your arteries and increases your risk for metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes.”
3. You might over-eat unhealthy fats
Where you’ll find it: Packaged baked goods, cookies and microwave popcorn
These products remain fresh for months because of the trans and saturated fats, but these ingredients do a number on your heart health.
“These fats raise your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which can deposit in your blood vessels and restrict healthy blood flow to your heart,” Dr. Basman tells Parade.
4. You won’t meaningfully contribute to your fiber intake
Where you’ll find it (or not find it): Snacks made from refined flours, like standard white crackers, baked chips, and pretzels
If you want to fiber max, you’ll probably want to steer your shopping cart clear of the packaged snack aisle.
“During processing, these snacks have almost all their natural fiber stripped away,” Dr. Basman notes. “Fiber is crucial because it helps sweep bad cholesterol out of your body and stabilizes your blood sugar. Without it, these simple carbs digest instantly, spiking your glucose and leaving you hungry again.”
5. Ultra-processed additives
Where you’ll find it: Brightly colored chips, processed meat sticks and highly flavored snack mixes.
Convenient and perhaps colorful, snacks with ultra-processed additives can harm the heart if you eat them regularly.
“These rely on a cocktail of artificial additives, preservatives and emulsifiers,” Dr. Basman states. “Recent clinical studies show that diets heavy in ultra-processed foods are directly tied to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, largely because they trigger chronic, low-grade inflammation throughout the body.”
Related: The Heart Health Mistake People Make With Electrolyte Drinks, According to Cardiologists
3 Tips for Grocery Shopping for Better Heart Health
OK, so Dr. Basman isn’t a regular in the packaged snack aisle. But what does he do when he shops for groceries? He shares top tips for grocery shopping for better heart health (and like a cardiologist).
1. He shops the perimeter first
Dr. Basman avoids the packaged snack aisle and heads to the perimeter.
“The outer edges of the grocery store are where the fresh, whole foods live—like produce, lean meats and fish,” he states. “By spending most of your time and budget here, you naturally fill your cart with heart-protective nutrients and avoid the highly processed, sodium-heavy items waiting in the center aisles.”
2. He ignores the front of the package and reads the back
This tip is especially helpful when you want to avoid sneaky added sugars in products marketed as “healthy,” like granola bars.
“Marketing buzzwords on the front of a box, like ‘multigrain,’ ‘all-natural’ or ‘low-fat,’ are designed to sell products, not protect your heart,” Dr. Basman states. “Turning the package over to read the actual nutrition facts and ingredient list is the only way to spot hidden sugars, sodium and heavily processed oils before you buy.”
3. He eats before he shops
Dr. Basman advises patients to “never shop on an empty stomach.”
“When you go to the store hungry, your brain instinctively craves high-calorie, sugary and salty convenience foods,” he says. “Having a quick, protein-rich snack before you grab a shopping cart stabilizes your blood sugar and keeps your willpower intact, making it much easier to walk right past the packaged snack aisle.”
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Sources:
Dr. Craig Basman, MD, FACC, the associate director of the structural and congenital heart program and director of the structural and congenital fellowship program at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center Home Meal Preparation: A Powerful Medical Intervention. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. An evidence-based, multidimensional definition of the Mediterranean Diet within the Italian National Guidelines “La Dieta Mediterranea”. Nutrition. 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association. Circulation. Addressing the sugar, salt, and fat issue the science of food way. Science of Food. Shaking the Salt Habit to Lower High Blood Pressure. American Heart Association. Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology. Our Hidden Enemy: Ultra-Processed Foods, Inflammation, and the Battle for Heart Health. Cureus.Hence then, the article about i m a cardiologist this is the grocery store aisle i spend the least amount of time in was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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