Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 600,000 deaths per year.
A number of factors contribute to your Risk, family history and age, but others like excess weight and inactivity, you have more control over.
Eating right and making sure your body has the nutrition it needs can be the most powerful method of heart disease prevention. Adopt healthy-eating guidelines, and consider these diet tips for a healthy heart.
1. Eat 2 Squares of Chocolate. Chocolate lovers rejoice! Louisiana State University researchers discovered that bacteria living in our stomachs ferment chocolate into an anti-inflammatory that are good for the heart. The best part? Researchers believe that adding fruit to the chocolate could boost fermentation.
2. Spice it up. Salt can increase your blood pressure, which is a major risk for heart disease. But just trying to eat less salt may be ineffective. Instead, try swapping salt for herbs and spices. A behavioral intervention study showed that adults who traded salt for spice blends consumed 966 mg/day less sodium than those who tried to just cut out salt completely.
3. Fiber is Your Friend. Fiber protects your heart by boosting your body’s ability to produce LDL (low-density lipoprotein) receptors which pull “bad” cholesterol out of the blood. You can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by eating 7 extra grams of fiber.
4. Garlic. Garlic that has green shoots emerging from the cloves has more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than the fresher version. Garlic can lower cholesterol, and help to keep blood flowing normally and prevent clots.
Focus On Healthy Foods
To fight heart disease, eating an assortment of nutritious foods daily can help lower your risk. In addition to making an effort to follow diet guidelines, taking advantage of preventive health screening options is the next step.
Life Line Screening offers a heart disease screening that includes checking for high cholesterol, elevated C-reactive protein levels, high blood pressure and assess other risk factors. Learn more about our preventive health screenings.
