7 Heart-Healthy Foods for Women
Heart disease affects both men and women. For women, this has become a serious concern. This is not just because the number of women with the disease has increased. In reality, it’s because the way that it manifests makes it more difficult to detect. In this article, you’ll learn about 7 heart-healthy foods.
However, what’s most concerning is that women take longer to have a medical check-up. Plus, although they might have particular risk factors for heart disease, they ignore it until something more serious shows up.
That’s why it’s important to shed some light on this subject so that you’ll immediately respond to anything out of the ordinary, and also improve your general lifestyle habits.
Today, we want to recommend seven healthy foods with nutritional properties that will help take care of a woman’s heart health.
Start including them in your diet today!
1-Nuts
Walnuts, almonds, and other types of nuts are foods that provide omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, and antioxidants that help protect your heart health.- These essential nutrients regulate your cholesterol levels. Plus, they prevent the formation of plaque in the arteries.
- In addition, they’re also useful for regulating inflammation, a factor that’s related to major cardiac problems.
Read also: Why eat tree nuts?
2-Broccoli
Broccoli has long been popular in all healthy diet plans. This vegetable is rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Naturally, this makes it an ingredient that promotes better arterial and heart health.
- It contains folic acid, zinc, and iron, all minerals that help maintain good circulation to prevent disorders like high blood pressure.
- Broccoli provides vitamins C, E, and K, in addition to phytonutrients that strengthen the arteries and heart muscle.
- Meanwhile, dietary fiber decreases your absorption of bad cholesterol (LDL) and promotes the removal of toxins.
3-Strawberries
Low in calories and rich in antioxidants, strawberries are excellent for taking care of your heart.- Flavonoids help dilate your arteries and prevent them from hardening, which is related to high blood pressure.
- This fruit contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals to regulate cholesterol levels.
- Plus, they help remove toxins from the bloodstream and decrease excess inflammation.
4-Turmeric
Turmeric is an ingredient that every woman should consume. It stands out for its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and pain relieving properties, making it a common natural remedy.
- The main active compound in turmeric, curcumin, decreases inflammation in tissues around the heart and reduces your risk of a heart attack.
- In addition to its powerful antioxidants, turmeric helps regulate blood pressure and controls cholesterol levels.
5-Green tea
Green tea became popular around the world for its weight loss properties. However, green tea also contains many antioxidants with lots of benefits for your cardiovascular health.- It contains catechins, polyphenols, and isoflavones. These improve the function of your heart and circulatory system.
- Meanwhile, its antioxidants remove lipids from the bloodstream. This prevents your arteries from becoming clogged.
- One of the amino acids in green tea, L-theanine, minimizes the impact of oxidative stress. This is a factor that can increase your risk of certain cardiac problems.
6-Olive oil
This essential ingredient from the Mediterranean diet is another one of the best dietary supplements to keep heart disease at bay.
- The high content of healthy fats in olive oil promotes the cleansing of the arteries. Plus, by reducing cholesterol levels, it prevents the onset of atherosclerosis.
- In addition, olive oil helps increase the elasticity of your arteries to promote better circulation and blood pressure.
- It also fights inflammation and strengthens and protects your heart thanks to its antioxidants and amino acids.
Visit this article: 5 olive oil treatments for skin
7-Salmon
Finally, salmon and other varieties of cold water fish contain omega-3 fatty acids and high value protein to help care for your heart.- First of all, these nutrients promote the control of high cholesterol levels and triglycerides in the bloodstream. These are two factors that are often related to the development of cardiovascular disease.
- Plus, they regulate your body’s inflammatory processes and restore arterial health. This keeps your blood flowing without difficulty.
Salmon is recommended by the American Heart Association as a way to reduce your risk of heart attacks, heart failure, and stroke.
Do you regularly consume these foods? If they’re not already part of your diet, start eating them as soon as possible and take advantage of their properties to care for your heart.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Park, Wungki et al. “New perspectives of curcumin in cancer prevention” Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) vol. 6,5 (2013): 387-400.
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Eating Fish for Heart Health. American Heart Association. [Online] Avaiable at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/MyHeartandStrokeNews/Eating-Fish-for-Heart-Health_UCM_440433_Article.jsp#.XGw2iy1Dn-Y</p>