Break These Eating Habits, to Take Good Care of Your Heart.br These five habits could be setting you br up for future struggles with heart disease, br which is the leading cause of death in the U.S.br 1, Too many foods with br high-sugar content.br Excess sugar causes excess insulin release, which causes irritation and plaque development in blood vessels, Stephen T. Sinatra, Heart MD Institute br Founder, via 'Eat This, Not That'.br 2, Too much salt.br Consuming too much salt causes high blood pressure, which ties to heart disease, Suzanne Steinbaum, MD Mount Sinai Hospital, via 'Eat This, Not That'.br 3, Drinking soda.br Both sugary regular sodas and artificially sweetened br diet sodas can wreak havoc on your heart.br 4, Excessive saturated fat.br Too much butter, cheese, br red meat or processed foods can br greatly increase your risk of heart disease.br 5, Too little fiber in your diet.