Eat to Save Your Heart!

7 foods for cardio health

Taking good care of your cardiovascular system can be as easy as picking the right foods at the grocery store or local market. Consider regularly incorporating the following seven, heart-protective foods into your cooking and eating routines.

Garlic

Loved and used liberally by many cultures throughout the world, adding garlic to your diet is a simple way to help keep heart disease at bay. Several clinical trials and studies have been conducted on garlic and its sulphur-containing compounds.

Garlic has been associated with a reduction in risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, such as blood pressure, lipid levels, and blood glucose concentration. Short-term supplementation of garlic has been shown to be beneficial in reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, a key factor in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Seafood

Anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in seafood such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel, have consistently been shown to positively affect heart health. Specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the polyunsaturated long-chain fatty acids found in seafood that help reduce inflammation and lower elevated triglyceride levels.

Interestingly, DHA, has been shown to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and decrease triglyceride levels, two factors that contribute to cardiovascular health.

The American Heart Institute recommends we consume at least two servings of omega 3-rich foods per week. From poached salmon to grilled arctic char, the opportunities are endless when adding one of the best foods for heart health to your plate.

Flax seeds

These small but mighty seeds pack a punch when it comes to improving cardiovascular health. Consumed by humans since ancient times, flaxseeds have been used by cultures around the world for dietary and medicinal purposes. The soluble gum in these fiber-rich seeds may play a role in regulating cholesterol levels.

Flaxseeds are also rich in plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), helping to reduce arterial inflammation. These little powerhouses also contain phytoestrogens, which, according to research, can help reduce this risk of heart disease.

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Extra-virgin olive oil, commonly known as EVOO, is one of the cornerstones of the Mediterranean diet, a heart-healthy eating program. Clinical research has shown that its cardioprotective qualities may be a result of the bioactive compounds and carotenoids, such as beta carotene, found in olive oil. These potent antioxidants help to reduce inflammation that can lead to the development of cardiovascular decline.

The abundance of monounsaturated fatty acids combined with tocopherols and polyphenols seem to be the perfect combination for keeping blood vessels and arteries happy and healthy. Monounsaturated fatty acids help to reduce triglyceride levels while anti-inflammatory antioxidants can reduce the burden on arteries by providing them with the nutrients they need to function optimally. Drizzling this heart-healthy oil on to your favorite meals might just nourish your body as much as your taste buds.

Berries

Is there anything better than fresh, local berries in the summer months? From blackberries to strawberries, these little gems, loaded with polyphenols, nutrients, and fiber, help reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications. Regular berry consumption has been shown to reduce LDL oxidation and total plasma antioxidant capacity, both factors involved in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Blueberries, in particular, are rich in a polyphenol called anthocyanin, which has been associated with improved cardiovascular health through its antioxidant effects. The polyphenols and essential fatty acids found in raspberry seeds have also been shown to play a protective role. Frozen berries are also great added to your favorite smoothie recipes. Swap those after-dinner sweet treats for some nutrient-rich, heart-healthy berries.

Spinach

It comes as no surprise that nutrient-dense spinach has made it onto the foods for a healthy heart list. The nitrates found in spinach, when converted to nitric oxide in the body, have been shown to improve endothelial function and lower blood pressure, both key factors in maintaining cardiovascular health. Studies have shown that the consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables such as spinach reduces blood pressure while increasing plasma nitrate concentrations. From salads to soups and everything in between, throwing a handful into your meals is easy.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes have also been recognized as a cardiovascular supportive food. Research has demonstrated their ability to improve markers of cardiovascular disease, such as endothelial function, blood lipids, and blood pressure.

High concentrations of lycopene, an essential nutrient found in tomatoes, may reduce the risk of stroke up to 26%. Cooking tomatoes may actually make their protective compounds more bioavailable during digestion compared to their raw counterparts. Italians may be onto something with their stewed tomato sauces that are undoubtedly also packed with heart-healthy garlic.

The bottom line

Every meal gives us the opportunity to nourish our bodies and support our cardiovascular systems. It the real stuff, not a supplement.

[ The following is the full transcript from this week's post. This is a health blog with a focus on weight loss. Please consider that all episodes are unscripted, direct to camera, with focused talking points. ]

Today, I want to talk to you about your cardiovascular health.

Often when we are talking about cardiovascular health. People think, I gotta do a, a lot of exercise workouts, and that underlying tone of moderate to high endurance type exercises, to really improve your cardiovascular health.

And while it is true that these things help cardiovascular health, our diet is really, important for our cardiovascular health.

So, what I want to do is I want to go through basically seven foods that we can take that have been shown to be beneficial in your cardiovascular health.

There are other benefits associated with foods, but today I am really speaking related to your cardiovascular health. The first food item is garlic, garlic has been around since the beginning of man. And we are really learning a lot about garlic.

And the interesting thing about garlic is, it really helps to reduce some of the LDL, the bad cholesterol, if you will, or specifically the oxidation of that. What happens is as these LDL's are going around our body. They become oxidize which kind of start to destroy tissue and things like that. Garlic has been found to really be beneficial in helping prevent this.

It helps also, with your blood glucose control. So, if you are having difficulty with blood glucose, it can help stabilize that, and it also has an effect on helping lower your blood pressure.

So, garlic is a simple herb that you can take. It is an enjoyable thing to eat for most people, and it really does have a good, positive impact on your cardiovascular health.

The next item is seafood.

Now, we have all heard about, omega three fatty acids, and taking those. A lot of people take a supplement of omega three fatty acids.

The reality is, that you can eat seafood, and get the same omega three fatty acids, because they are really kind of abundant in the fatty fish of the ocean.

These omega three fatty acids are very beneficial for us. They help affect our cholesterol. But one of the things that they can do is help elevate what's called our HDL, or high density, lipoproteins, and those are kind of what we call the good cholesterol. It can also help decrease your triglycerides.

And really, the combination is extremely beneficial for your heart, specifically in improving your health.

So, people often are struggling to kind of get their cholesterol down or the HDL. And the seafood or the omega three fatty acids can be very helpful for that.

So, the next item that people often do not know about is flax seeds. Flax seeds are basically abundant, cheap and they have a significant impact on your cardiovascular health. They are used around the world and consumed from all basically all cultures.

But the reality of it is, is the nice thing about flax seeds is they are high in fiber. And we know the high fiber intake has a positive effect on regulating a cholesterol level.

So, just increasing fiber content helps regulate your cholesterol, which in turn, is going to help promote cardiovascular health.

But in addition to that, the flax seeds are also rich in Omega three fatty acids, just like we talked about with seafood.

For how small they are, flax seeds pack a big punch to help you with your cardiovascular health.

There are other things they can do such as they can reduce arterial inflammation. As we learn more and more about disease processes. We are learning that inflammation is a big part in kind of multiple disease processes, and so anything we can do to help limit or reduce that inflammation is extremely beneficial, and that is one of the things that flax seeds can do, related it to your cardiovascular health.

The next food item is extra virgin olive oil. This is really known as one of the cornerstones of what is called the Mediterranean diet. Mediterranean diets been studied for decades. And this has been found to be one of the healthiest diets are the people that continually follow that type of diet.

One of the mainstays like I said though, is the extra virgin olive oil. And it has quite a bit of cardio protective compounds, and I will not talk about a specific compound.

The big thing is, is it is helps with that inflammation that I already talked about.

So, it is a potent antioxidant that is going to help reduce inflammation, which obviously, inflammation is a big factor in multiple diseases, but specifically, cardiovascular disease.

In addition to that, some of the other compounds help to kind maintain a kind of a healthy arteries.

That is one of the challenges we have with cardiovascular disease as we get older. Kind of our diet affects our arteries they can become stiff.

They basically are not responsive to different stressors, and that can lead to multiple things. But one of those things is significant blood pressure problems.

You want the arteries to kind of be able to flex, and it is really important that we help fight to keep that flexibility.

And one of those ways we can do that, is with, with the extra virgin olive oil.

And the nice thing is, it is simple, to consume, is nothing fancy about. A lot of people will this kind of sprinkle on some on their meal and just consume it directly that way.

The next items are berries.

The nice thing about berries is they help give us that refreshing bump if you would. You know, the sweetness and the freshness of them. And they have a lot of benefits.

But one of the biggest benefits with the berries is also related to is the oxidants.

So, they have multiple chemicals that I will not go into the specifics of each chemical. But the end result is that berries help with inflammation.

We are talking about the cardiovascular disease, and like I said, is very much driven by inflammation. And anything we can do to reduce that is extremely helpful.

Secondarily, berries often have fiber with them. Like we already said fiber is good at helping maintain and regulate your cholesterol.

The nice thing about berries, as most people enjoy eating berries, and so, it is actually a nice treat. The nice thing with barriers to is you can freeze them, make them into smoothies, lots of different ways you can enjoy berries, and the cardiovascular effects or benefits from berries is immense. But the biggest thing is really helping with that at the antioxidant capacity, in the body to help reduce or control inflammation. So, it is highly recommended that you have berries in your diet.

The next item is spinach. A lot of us are older people like myself, think of Popeye. Popeye must have had it right because we have learned and continue learning more and more about spinach. Specifically, spinach contains quite a bit of nitrate compounds, and the thing is nitrates are converted to nitric oxide in the body. And that basically kind of helps the cells or endothelial cells that line the blood capillaries, the Arteries and things that make up the cardiovascular system, it helps them to function well, and over time.

So that has a huge impact on your blood pressure, your cardiac function, the things like that.

Nitrates turning to nitric oxide can be extremely beneficial in the sense of helping our cardiovascular system.

The nice thing is spinach is something that can be in multiple forms. You can make soups; you can eat it raw as a salad. You can cook it or steam it. There are multiple ways to enjoy spinach.

The final food is tomatoes, and tomatoes really have been demonstrated to really help improve various markers of cardiovascular disease. Like I said, the endothelial lining, or the functional lining of the blood vessels, that is one of the things that tomatoes helps. It also has an impact on the lipids and on your blood pressure.

So, Tomatoes can have a significant, positive impact on your cardiovascular health. In fact, there is the one study that found that that basically some of the chemicals that you find it in tomatoes can reduce the risk of stroke up to 26%.

So, tomatoes are a great item to help with cardiovascular and then, secondarily, some of these kinds of the chemicals that help with this benefit tend to be improved with some cooking.

Interestingly enough, when we are talking about different chemicals associated with food, we talk about it in the context of kind of the raw food item. And that often, cooking will do something to, to make that chemical not work as well or less available.

The interesting thing is with tomatoes, these compounds can be improved with cooking, so don't be shy to make stew, things like that and really enjoy tomatoes.

So again, it is a food item that is easy to use, easy to prepare, and readily available.

So, these are just quickly some items to consider, and how you are eating, and the impact of your diet.

Like I said, repeatedly, wellness is multiple factors involved, but one of the big factors is nutrition and what we are eating.

And so, the more you know, the better off you are going to be and taking care of yourself.

If you are looking for cardiovascular help, these are some items that will really help improve your cardiovascular system.

I encourage you to get your, your share of these items and enjoy and learn how to cook with them and enjoy it, because there's immense benefits and long-term benefits that you can get from them.

Keep on working on it.

Keep striving for your wellness.

And, again, if there is anything we can do to help you, just let us know.

Thank you.

Kelly Cox MD, FACEP

Member, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine