10 Heart-Healthy Foods and Nutrients Every Woman Should Add to Her Diet
The average heart beats 2.5 billion times over its lifetime, according to Harvard Medical School, and it’s so important to make sure that your heart is able to healthily complete each one of those beats.
The heart is responsible for pushing blood all over the body as a way to transport oxygen, fuel, hormones and more, so it’s got quite a big job.
And though it can seem kind of nebulous to try to pin down exactly what your heart is so hard at work at or how you can best help it, there are plenty of diet changes you can make to help encourage a healthier heart. If you’re looking for an easy way to protect your heart, try adding some heart-healthy foods to your diet.
We talked to some of our go-to experts, including Karen Ansel, MS, RDN, to find out which fruits, vegetables, and grains you should eat to keep your ticker healthy.
Leafy Greens
Dark green vegetables including kale and spinach are a great source of Vitamin K, according to Healthline, which helps your arteries and “promotes proper blood clotting.”
Tuna
Tuna, along with other fatty fish like mackerel and sardines, is full of omega-3 fatty acids. According to the Mayo Clinic, these omega-3 fatty acids decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce clotting, and reduce irregular heartbeats, all of which are beneficial for overall heart health.
Edamame
Edamame beans are full of soy protein, which can be a great replacement for animal protein, according to the American Heart Association. The AHA found that substituting animal protein for soy protein could lead to a reduction in LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).
Avocados
As if you needed an excuse to eat more avocados, research by the American Heart Association found that eating an avocado a day may lower your risk of “bad” LDL cholesterol, because these fruits have a rich nutrient profile and don’t contain any sodium.
Whole Grains
Unlike refined carbs, whole grains — like brown rice, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, and quinoa — are fibrous foods packed with nutrients. According to a review published in BMJ, eating three or more servings of whole grains a day may reduce your risk of heart disease as much as 22%. The fiber, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc in whole grains improve your cholesterol and carry oxygen to the blood to lower your risk of heart disease.
Beans
In addition to being high in protein, beans are packed with heart-healthy nutrients like B vitamins and potassium. According to Healthline, eating beans can reduce your body’s blood levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, which the AHA flags as risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
Beans
In addition to being high in protein, beans are packed with heart-healthy nutrients like B vitamins and potassium. According to Healthline, eating beans can reduce your body’s blood levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, which the AHA flags as risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
Chia Seeds
According to the AHA, high blood pressure is a huge risk factor for heart disease. A small study published in Plant Foods for Human Nutrition gave 35 g a day of either chia flour or a placebo to people with hypertension for 12 weeks. The results? A significant reduction in blood pressure for those who consumed the chia flour.
Dates
Dates are rich in potassium, an important nutrient that plays a role in managing blood pressure, and a fruit that most people don’t get enough of, says Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RDN, professor of nutrition at Penn State University. According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, dates may also help cut levels of triglycerides, which are fats in the blood associated with heart attacks and strokes. Dates are high in natural sugar, but low on the glycemic index, meaning they don’t cause spikes in blood sugar. One date contains about 66 calories, so stick with two per day as a snack.
Pineapple
According to Medical News Today, one cup of pineapple has more than 100% of your day’s vitamin C needs. Vitamin C aids the heart by fighting free radicals (a.k.a. molecules that damage heart cells).