Think about this for a moment: Every meal you have this week — breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, desert — they can all be healthy for your heart.
And that diet doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless. There is such a variety of food out there that is good for you. If only you just knew it.
Here’s a list of 10 of the most healthy foods you can eat to do good by your heart. One of the main things we look for here is that the food has Omega-3 fatty acids.
Oatmeal. Is this the healthiest thing going? It’s gotta be up there. It’s on so many lists. Ok, oatmeal might be considered a little bland for flavor, but you can add a lot of healthy toppings, such as banana and other fruits or honey. Also, exercise some discretion in the oatmeal you buy — the best is steel-cut or coarse oats, not the instant type.
Salmon is delicious, right? Two servings per week is about right — this can cut heart attack risks by up to 33 percent. According to cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, MD, the author of Lower Your Blood Pressure In Eight Weeks, “Salmon contains the carotenoid astaxanthin, which is a very powerful antioxidant.” Again, exercise discretion: farm raised fish are not as healthy as wild salmon in general. Why? Pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals — things that kill life.
Alternatives to salmon: tuna, sardines, mackerel, herring — these are oil fish.
Avocado can be used in place of butter, some say, and it’s being used in cookie recipes. It’s delicious on salads and sandwiches, anyway, and is a source of healthy fats for your body — monounsaturated fat.
“Avocados are awesome. They allow for the absorption of other carotenoids—especially beta-carotene and lycopene—which are essential for heart health,” says Dr. Sinatra.
The rest of the list:
Olive oil
Legumes
Spinach
Flaxseed
Soy
Nuts
Berries