Keeping your heart healthy is one of the best ways to take care of yourself.
It goes without saying, but your heart does a lot of work to keep you feeling great. Eating the right foods can help to ensure that your heart has everything it needs to keep you healthy!
Whether you’ve been given advice by a doctor or you’ve never had an issue your entire life, heart health plays a vital role in your overall wellbeing. Therefore, it’s imperative that you take care of your heart as much as possible, which means you should do your best to avoid the foods that can do significant harm to your health. Eating healthy is important for anyone of any age, and it doesn’t have to mean food has to be boring, either! There are plenty of delicious foods out there that provide a lot of essential nutrients for your heart to function properly, so here is a list we’ve compiled of some of our favorites!
Image by unsplash
1. Berries
Nothing says “I’m putting my health first without compromising my love for delicious flavors” like a handful of juicy berries! There are so many types, flavors, and textures, everyone is bound to find the right kind of berry for them. There are a number of benefits that berries bring to the table, and that goes for being heart healthy too! Berries possess a high percentage of polyphenols like anthocyanins, micronutrients, and fiber, making it the perfect food to keep your heart happy and healthy! Plus, they are an easy and fresh snack with minimal preparation involved. All around, berries are a pretty great food option!
Image by unsplash
2. Nuts
Nuts, like berries, hold a lot of nutritional value in a tiny food. They have a ton of fat, about 80%, but this isn’t as bad as it sounds! Nuts like almonds and cashews and more have unsaturated fats that help to lower cholesterol. Eating a healthy serving of nuts is a great way to keep your heart healthy with a delicious and quick snack!
Image by unsplash
3. Tomatoes
Most people either adore tomatoes or despise them, and that relationship depends on the texture of tomatoes quite a bit. For those that do enjoy the sweet plumpness that tomatoes provide, there are a ton of great health benefits that come along with these little guys. Tomatoes are packed with something known as “lycopene” which is known to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, meaning your heart doesn’t have to work as hard to keep you healthy!
Image by unsplash
4. Garlic
Garlic is characterised by its sharp flavor. It’s definitely an attention-demanding food that can make a dish so much better just by adding a hint of this ingredient. Its health benefits aren’t necessarily new information either, since garlic has been used for thousands of years as a medicinal herb. But incorporating more garlic into your diet can help to reduce your cardiovascular risks by lowering and helping maintain cholesterol and blood pressure levels!
Image by unsplash
5. Fish
Fish and fish oil are rich in omega-3 fatty acid, which is essential for a functioning heart! They are known to help with lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, reducing the chances of blood clots, and reducing irregular heartbeats as well! According to the American Heart Association, people should aim to eat fish and foods rich in unsaturated fats at least twice a week if not more to get the right nutrients they need to prevent heart disease!
Image by unsplash
6. Avocado
Researchers suggest that eating one avocado a day can give your body the right tools to prevent high cholesterol at a significant rate! This is because avocados help to reduce the body’s LDL levels (low-density lipoprotein) that contributes to high levels of cholesterol. Having higher levels of cholesterol and other factors suggests that your heart may be working too hard all at once, making it more susceptible to overworking itself and exertion, which is not great! Not only are avocados delicious and versatile, but they’re a healthy snack to incorporate into your daily life as well!
Keeping your heart healthy and happy isn't something that can be done overnight, and you don’t want to wait for the day that it’s too late to prioritize your health before you start living a healthy lifestyle. It’s important to think about prevention and taking care of your heart is one of the best ways to make sure you’re healthy and prevent unwanted illnesses. Eating the right food is also an important part of staying healthy and it’s necessary to know what foods are and are not helpful for you and your body!
We hope you enjoy this list of 6 Foods for a Healthy Heart. If you tried any of the things we provided, make sure to let us know! For more recipes and tips, follow us on social media and make sure to check out our weekly blog posts where we share our new favorite recipes and must-know facts about food and living a healthy lifestyle! Check out the other meal options Mealfit provides such as our Weekly Specials, Individual Meals, and other Meals by the Pound.
Leave a comment