Eat Your Way to a Healthy Heart! Part 2 November 13
We bring your more heart-friendly ingredients towards equally heart-friendly dishes to incorporate into your daily menu.
Next up is soy protein. Although this may be an acquired taste for some, this ingredient is an inexpensive source of fiber, vitamins and minerals. A soy protein-rich diet can help lower high triglyceride levels, which, by extension, help prevent cardiovascular diseases. Getting soy milk from the Chinese grocery is not just beneficial to those who are lactose intolerant. It may also be a way for you to take care of your heart. It may also be a good idea to pack a soy protein bar or soy nuts for a healthy snack while you’re furiously typing your day away at the office, instead of grabbing a croissant from the snack counter.
If tofu is not exactly your idea of having it all – meaning eating healthy but yummy foods – then this next ingredient may be right up your alley. Not too many people will probably pass up on an oatmeal raisin cookie; I know I definitely will not. Oats are whole grains that are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. It is one of the better-known heart-friendly foods, and it is probably partly thanks to the fact that oatmeal is one of the products that the FDA actually allows to make claims that suggest that a high-oat diet can lead to the reduction of risk for heart disease.
Oatmeal is also rather easy to bring around with you. One can easily sneak an oatmeal bar or cookie into one’s purse, and there are a lot of individual packets of instant oats available for that quick bowl of oatmeal on the go.
Last, but definitely not least in terms of health benefits, on the list is Popeye’s favorite treat — spinach. This is also one ingredient I love to use. It is easily camouflaged in dishes that are a rare combination of gastronomic but healthy bliss. Packed into the spinach are phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, including folate and iron, that help the body combat disease, preserve one’s eyesight, and protect the boday against heart disease.
My favorite way of having spinach is by topping it on homemade pizza smothered in marinara sauce. All this food talk just made my stomach rumble a little bit. Maybe we should all go ahead and eat – but to a healthy heart!
Tags: foods good for the heart, healthy heart, heart-friendly foods, heart-healthy foods