A lot of useful information is available in the internet regarding heart disease. A massive information campaign have been launched years and years back, when people started to discover the physical, emotional and financial impact of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, heart failure, atherosclerosis and the like. The mortality rate associated with heart disease is quite high. Each year, in the United States alone, more than 600,000 Americans die from the condition – and the numbers are true all over the world. What should further be a cause for concern is that people who are being diagnosed with heart disease are getting younger and younger. Long ago, heart disease was almost synonymous to aging – but gone are those days. In today’s generation, even the young can be given that life-threatening diagnosis.

Reducing your risk of heart disease means you would have to take active participation toward the achievement of your goal. This would mean you setting aside at least 30 minutes each day to exercise. This would require you to stop smoking and to limit your consumption of alcohol no matter how tempted you are to give in to your cravings. But there would also be dietary changes that you would need to implement in your life. For example, do away with high fat, high sodium, high cholesterol and sugary foods and you will eventually see the changes take place. You will surely feel healthier.

Aside from the ones mentioned, you may also want to include these foods in your diet. These foods have been known to help reduce a person’s risk of heart disease.

• Berries

  Consuming fresh berries regularly can help lower the build-up of low density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol in the blood. LDL is commonly known as the bad form of cholesterol and high levels of this can significantly contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, stroke and heart disease.

  The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has published a study which says that blackberries have the strongest inhibitory effect on the LDL. Strawberries, blueberries, sweet cherries and red raspberries also exhibit the same effect although not as strong as blackberries. Another study revealed that eating berries can help increase high density lipoprotein, or HDL, levels in the body. HDL is also known as the good form of cholesterol.

• Tomatoes

  Tomatoes contain potassium and beta-carotene. Potassium is a mineral which ensures the normal beating of the heart and beta-carotene is said to help reduce heart disease risk. Additionally, tomatoes are also rich in folate, vitamin B5 and niacin.

• Mangoes

  Life-threatening conditions such as coronary artery disease and stroke have been linked to having homocysteine levels. This can damage the walls of your blood vessels, stimulate the formation of blood clots and trigger the blockage of your arteries. Homocysteine is produced inside the body. In order for the body to utilize homocysteine in its many processes, vitamin B has to be present.

  Mangoes are packed with vitamin B which has been found to help decrease the build-up of homocysteine.

• Sweet Potatoes

  Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin A, fiber and potassium. Fiber has been universally well-known for its ability to help fight disease because it sweeps away bad cholesterol and then flushes it out of our body system. In fact, a study conducted in Japan which lasted for 14 years revealed that men and women who regularly ate fiber, at least 14 grams each day, had an 18 percent lesser chance of developing heart disease.

  Sweet potatoes are available all year round, and they are inexpensive. So whoever said that being healthy would mean spending a lot of money is obviously wrong. Aside from sweet potatoes, fiber can also be found in corn, oats, rice and wheat.

• Leafy Greens

  If you’re torn between two vegetables, choose the one with a deeper, richer color. A registered dietician from the University Medical Center says that the more color the vegetable have, the more vitamins and minerals it contains – which is actually good for you. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine from Yeshiva University revealed that the nitrite content of leafy green veggies helps promote a healthy heart by minimizing tissue damage brought about by heart attacks. Furthermore, leafy greens are bursting with nutrients but with very few calories. This means you could go back for seconds without worrying about your waistline at all.

• Quinoa

  Quinoa may be a little less popular than the others found in this list but if you see them, grab them. This South American seed is slowly making its way into the top of the health conscious’ list because it is abundant in amino acids and magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that is needed by the body in order to help the blood vessels relax thereby making quinoa a food that is good for the heart. Low magnesium levels inside the body had been associated with heart arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease and hypertension. Aside from amino acids and magnesium, quinoa also contains phosphorus, copper and iron.

• Beans

  Beans are excellent sources of folate, potassium, magnesium and fiber. A research study on the health benefits both men and women can derive from legumes have been conducted years ago and results revealed that peas and beans can help protect the heart from diseases. The data of at least 100,000 men and women from the United States, ages 25 to 74, were analyzed. It was found out that those who ate beans and legumes at least four times each week decreased their heart disease risk by 19 percent as compared to those who only ate once a week.

• Wild Salmon

  Salmon is an excellent source of protein, minus the saturated fat of course. The fish has gained popularity as a superb health food because of its omega 3 fatty acids. Research studies have shown that omega 3 fatty acids help in decreasing a person’s risk of abnormal heartbeats, or arrhythmia, which can cause sudden death. This is according to information given by the American Heart Association (AHA). Aside from this, omega 3 fatty acids can also help lower triglyceride levels, help regulate one’s blood pressure, and prevent fatty plaques from depositing into the walls of your blood vessels. To say therefore that salmon is good for the heart would be the understatement of the century. The AHA recommends that we all eat fish at least twice a week. But remember to choose wild salmon over farmed salmon because the latter has a lot of PCB contaminants.

Sources
lvrj.com
familydoctor.org