Testing It Up

There are several heart-healthy foods that everyone should eat regularly. We are sharing some of them below. If these foods are still not part of your regular diet, you should consider including them now.

Breakfast

Start your day right with a bowl of oats, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, folate and potassium. It controls cholesterol levels and keeps arteries clear.

Salad

Take a spinach salad and add a bit of avocado. Spinach is packed with lutein (a carotenoid), B-complex vitamins, folate, magnesium, potassium, calcium and fiber; and avocados can lower LDL levels and increase HDL levels in the body. It also facilitates the absorption of other carotenoids.

Lunch or Dinner

Eating salmon at least twice every week may reduce one’s risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third. Salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which keep blood pressure in control and reduce risk of clotting. If you don’t like salmon, grab a serving of mackerel, tuna, herring or sardines.

Snacks

Walnuts, almonds and macadamia nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, and fiber. Munch on these nuts for a healthy heart, or add them to low-fat yogurt or fruit salads.

Dessert

Who says you can’t have desserts? Enjoy some blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, all great for vascular health and can reduce one’s risk of heart disease.

For those who would like to give their hearts a little bit more loving for 2011, here are a few heart-friendly foods to feast on, as shared in a feature on WebMD.

Fresh herbs. Herbs, such as rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme, contain antioxidants. When these are used to replace salt, fat and cholesterol in dishes, they do more than just make a dish even more flavorful; they also make them more heart-friendly.

Black beans. Mild, tender black beans are rich in such nutrients as folate, antioxidants, magnesium, and fiber. These help control cholesterol and blood sugar levels. When using canned black beans, however, remember to rinse them out before adding them to soups and salads in order to remove the extra sodium.

Salmon. Salmon is rich in omega-3s, which help lower one’s risk of rhythm disorders. In addition, salmon can help lower blood triglycerides and reduce inflammation. Great and simple ways to prepare salmon include baking it in foil with herbs and vegetables, or tossing them into fish tacos and salads.

Walnuts. A daily serving of a small handful of walnuts can help lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation in the arteries of the heart.

Almonds. Almonds are rich in vitamin E, plant sterols, fiber, and heart-healthy fats. They can help lower LDL cholesterol and reduce diabetes risk. Add slivered almonds to vegetables, fish, chicken and dessert for a more heart-healthy meal.

Sweet potatoes. Diabetics can choose to substitute white with sweet potatoes, as they have low glycemic index. What this means is that they would not cause a quick spike in blood sugar, while at the same time providing fiber, vitamin A and lycopene.

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!

Our title may look like a contradiction – after all, eating is one of the things that are being blamed for the development of heart disease. It is worthy to note, though, that it is the absence of restraint in the way some people eat that lead to the development of heart disease. In perhaps one of life’s ironies, eating is as much a great way of maintaining a healthy heart as it is a cause for abusing it.

We probably do not have to stress the importance of taking care of one’s heart. After all, it is the only one you have, and one cannot easily get a new one to replace it.

Along with the proper amount of exercise as well as refraining from indulging in risk factors such as smoking, a healthy diet is one of the recommendations that physicians and other health care professionals give to people who would like to live long, healthy lives. This means that, yes, you can eat your way to a healthy heart.

WebMD shares a list of heart-healthy foods that you may want to incorporate into your menu on a regular basis. Topping the list is probably many a person’s favorite topping – blueberries. This is more than just a treat for the palate – they are packed with things that will help you ward off disease, including anthocyanins, the anti-oxidant that gives it its blue hue.

My sister used to work with someone who was such a health buff. And more often than not, my sister noticed that she gobbled up our next item on the menu – salmon. This diet, coupled with her daily mile-or-so-long walk with her Labrador retriever, probably accounted for her healthy physique. Salmon is a cold-water fish that is a great source of protein as well as omega-3 fatty acids – a real heart-healthy treat. There are probably a million and one ways to prepare salmon, and this is one dish that people probably will not make any complaints about even if served on day in and day out.