Diet and Your Heart: Can What You Eat Improve Your Numbers?

How much can what you eat really influence your heart health — and how quickly can you improve your blood pressure or cholesterol through diet? In this episode of Health Matters, host Courtney Allison sits down with cardiologist Dr. Sean Mendez of NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital to break down the real connection between food and cardiovascular wellbeing.

They explore what your health numbers mean — from blood pressure ranges to LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and the emerging marker ApoB — and how these values signal current or future risk. Dr. Mendez explains how dietary shifts can lower LDL cholesterol by 3 to 15 percent and reduce blood pressure by several points, even without medication. He also discusses salt sensitivity, the impact of saturated fats and processed foods, and why soluble fiber, healthy fats, and whole foods can play a powerful role in improving cholesterol.

The conversation dives into the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet, outlining how each works, what they emphasize, and the evidence behind their ability to reduce blood pressure and overall cardiovascular risk. Dr. Mendez offers practical tips for getting started and key lifestyle factors that are essential for heart health. 

Whether you're hoping to lower your numbers, prevent future heart issues, or simply make more informed choices at the grocery store, this episode provides clear, accessible guidance on building a heart‑healthy way of eating.

Chapters:

01:13 – What Do Heart Health Numbers Mean?

04:33 – How Quickly Diet Changes Improve Labs

10:59 – How to Start Changing Eating Habits

Key Topics Covered

• What cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, and ApoB measure
• How these numbers relate to cardiovascular disease risk
• Healthy ranges for blood pressure and cholesterol
• How diet can lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure
• How quickly lab results change after modifying eating habits
• The role of salt sensitivity and saturated fats in heart health
• Foods that help lower LDL, including soluble fiber and healthy fats
• The DASH diet: its structure, purpose, and evidence for lowering blood pressure
• The Mediterranean diet: core foods, flexibility, and cardiovascular benefits
• Differences between DASH and Mediterranean diets
• Practical starting points for improving eating habits
• Benefits of tracking food intake and identifying patterns
• Easy, heart‑healthy food and snack swaps
• Why lifestyle factors like sleep, stress, exercise, and limiting alcohol matter
• Common misconceptions about eating for heart health
• Why heart‑healthy eating is beneficial at every age

Takeaway Message
Small, consistent changes to your diet and lifestyle can meaningfully improve your heart health — at any age. Understanding your numbers (like LDL, blood pressure, and ApoB) empowers you to make targeted choices, and evidence‑based eating patterns such as the DASH or Mediterranean diet can lower risk over time. Even if medications are part of your care, diet, sleep, exercise, and stress management remain essential tools for protecting your heart.

Expert Guest

Dr. Sean Mendez is a non-invasive cardiologist at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn-Methodist Hospital and an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

His clinical interests include preventive cardiology, valvular heart disease, and cardiovascular imaging, including echocardiography, stress testing, and vascular imaging. In addition to seeing patients in his outpatient clinic, he provides inpatient care in the cardiac care unit, cardiac telemetry unit, and consultative cardiology service. Dr. Mendez is passionate about providing his patients with the highest-quality, comprehensive cardiovascular care. He addresses all aspects of health to prevent the development and progression of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Mendez, a native of Buffalo, New York, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama with a bachelor's degree in both biology and mathematics. He attended medical school at the University at Buffalo, where he was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society. Dr. Mendez then completed his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.  He then completed his fellowship in cardiology at the Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was chief fellow.

For more health and wellness news, visit NewYork-Presbyterian’s Health Matters website.