As we've had chocolate and chips on this week's centre-spread nothing wrong with those, in moderation - I thought I would keep a balance by devoting Second Helpings' to matters of the heart a healthy heart, that is with some excellent advice from the Food Standards Agency.

Increasing the amount of fruit and veg you eat is a really positive step towards better health. Eating plenty of fruit and veg helps protect against heart disease, as well as some types of cancer.

Fruit and veg contain lots of nutrients that are good for us, including antioxidants such as vitamins C, E and beta carotene. Antioxidants can help prevent the build up of fatty deposits in our arteries. We should all be aiming to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg each day.

Fresh, frozen, tinned and dried fruit and veg all count towards your daily portions. And juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day. A portion is any of these:

- one apple, orange or banana.

- one heaped tablespoon of dried fruit.

- a cupful of grapes, cherries or berries.

- three heaped tablespoons of veg.

- a glass of fruit juice (150ml).

Eating a diet that is high in fibre can help lower cholesterol, which could reduce your chance of developing heart disease.

To increase the amount of fibre you eat, try to eat wholegrain varieties of starchy foods, such as wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholegrain pasta.

Getting enough fibre is another good reason to eat plenty of fruit and veg. Pears, apples, cranberries, dried fruit, Brussels sprouts, okra, cabbage, carrots and other types of fruit and veg all contain lots of fibre, and so do beans and pulses, such as red kidney beans, broad beans, chickpeas and green lentils.

As for fat, there are two main different types of fat saturated and unsaturated. Eating foods that are high in unsaturated fats can help prevent heart disease by reducing cholesterol in the blood. Foods high in unsaturated fats include:

- avocados.

- nuts.

- vegetable oils such as sunflower, olive, corn, walnut and rapeseed.

Omega 3 essential fatty acids can also help prevent heart disease by making the blood less likely to clot and by reducing inflammation. These fatty acids are found in oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines, salmon and trout. We should all try to eat at least two portions of fish a week and one of these should be oily fish.

Most of us eat a lot more salt than we should, so it's a good idea to cut down. This is because salt contains sodium and having too much sodium can raise blood pressure. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, increases the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease.

Adults should try to eat no more than 6g salt (2.5g sodium) each day. And if you think you don't have much salt because you don't add it at the table, don't be so sure, because three-quarters of the salt we eat comes from processed foods.

Next time you go shopping, compare the nutritional information on different products, to help you choose those with less added salt. Most foods are labelled with the amount of sodium (rather than the amount of salt) they contain. The amount will be given per 100g food. You may be surprised to see how much similar products vary in the amount of sodium they contain.

A food is high in sodium if it contains 0.5g sodium or more per 100g. A ready-prepared meal containing 0.5g sodium in 100g would contain 2.5g sodium in an average 500g serving. That is the maximum amount of sodium an adult should have in a whole day, which means it's very easy to have too much.

It's better to choose foods that contain just a little sodium 0.1g or less per 100g. Of course, you can't add up the grams of sodium in everything you eat, but if you take a look at the label on everyday foods, such as breakfast cereal, soup, sauces, biscuits and ready-prepared meals, and try to choose those that are low in sodium, this will help reduce the amount of salt you eat.

It's also a good idea to cut down on the salt we add when cooking or at the table. And try not to overdo salty foods such as crisps, salted nuts, bacon, cheese, pickles and smoked fish.

To benefit your heart:

- Drink a glass of juice with your breakfast.

- Swap your mid-morning bag of crisps for an apple.

- Go for a walk after lunch.

- Choose lean meat or chicken without the skin.

- Have an extra serving of vegetables with your evening meal and don't add salt when you cook or serve them.