Top Foods To Eat To Keep Your Heart Healthy

Heart disease stubbornly remains the number one killer in the U.S. for both men and women. How can you avoid being another statistic? Although part of your risk for heart disease is embedded in your genes and can't be altered some factors like your diet can be changed to push the odds in your favor. Heart Healthy Diets, While there are lots of so called heart healthy foods, none can be singled out as the key to a healthy heart. A healthful diet of fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains and low - fat dairy is a must. Here is a list of some other foods that are not listed above that are good for you to either eat or drink. Orange juice, grape juice, cranberries, and broccoli all contain specific nutriients and phytonutrients that help prevent heart disease and storke. But the five foods that are highlighted here stand out from the crowd by virtue of the volume of research that shows eating them regularly can decrease your risk for heart disease. How beans help your heart: The soluable fiber in beans helps lower blood cholestrol, while the folate helps keep homocysteine in check (elevated blood levels of homocysteine often signal clogged arteries). Beans are also rich in potassium which helps to regulate blood pressure. Moreover, resent reaearch says that beans are amoung the best sources of disease fighting antioxidents. How Fish helps your heart: Omega 3 fatty acids in fish help prevent ir-regular heart beats (arrhythmias) and have anti - inflammatory properties that help prevent blood clots and arteries from cbecoming clogged. They can also help lower blood triglyceride levels. How nuts help youe heart: Nuts are rich in monosaturated fats, which when substituted for saturated fats, help reduce total cholesterol and LDL's (low denesity lipoproteins, the bad cholesterol). Nuts are also rich in the amino acid arginine, which helps maintain the flexibility of arteries, making them less vulnerable to clogging. They also contain naturally occuring phytonutrients, such as resveratrol, that have been linked with heart disease prevention. How oats help your heart: Compared to other grains, oats more of oats fiberis the soluble kind, well known for lowering blood cholesterol. And recently, unique phytonutrients called avenanth - ramides that may help lower cholesterol have been identified in oats. Oats also help to maintain stable blood sugar and insulin levels along with healthy blood pressure which are all good for your heart. How olive oil helps your heart: Olive oil prevents the oxidation of LDL's one of the first steps in the arterie - clogging process. In addition to a wealth of mono unsaturated fats, olive oil is rich in antioxidents that help prevent free radical damage and protect vitamin E. Recently researchers discovered that olive oil contains a compound that helps to prevent inflamation much as ibuprofin does. ( Inflamation contributes to clogged arteries). The bottom line is that along with exercising regularly and not smoking , your diet is one risk factor for heart disease that you can control. By eating these provin heart healthy foods regularly. You will be able to decrease your risk for heart disease and live a healthier life.