Heart Healthy Nutrition Guidelines
Whether you’re young or old, fit or getting in shape, you should be thinking about the health of your heart.
While exercise and resistance training are necessary steps to a stronger and healthier heart, nutrition is one of the biggest factors. If you’re not eating right, you could be taking years off your life.
By improving and maintaining the health of your heart, you’ll boost your energy and feel better all around.
So let’s get to it. Here are some easy heart healthy nutrition guidelines you can follow today:
Heart Healthy Nutrition: Eat Nutrient-Rich Foods
Make sure you’re eating lots of leafy greens and colourful fruits and vegetables. These foods are high in fiber and are packed full of vitamins and minerals which will support a healthy heart.
You get extra bonus points for berries, broccoli and garlic which are really high on the anti-oxidant scale and therefore extra heart-healthy.
Heart Healthy Nutrition: Cut the Processed Foods
Canned foods, processed foods, and frozen foods should be removed from your diet. They are very high in sodium (a preservative), which can lead to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
When you’re shopping, aim for reduced sodium versions of foods if possible.
Heart Healthy Nutrition: Eat More Fiber
Increasing your intake of soluble fiber is one of the best ways of reducing cholesterol. Eating more fruits and vegetables can help, but when it comes to bread and grains, you should be going whole grain all the way. You’ve probably heard it before but white breads and processed grains have been stripped of most of their nutrients so do your best to avoid buying these.
Oatmeal and other whole grain cereals are fantastic heart healthy options. It’s recommended that you eat 45-50 grams of fiber per day to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. For that extra fiber boost, try adding an all natural Myogenix Pro Fiber to your diet which will not only help you stay regular but also help with removal of toxins in your body and even block some of the absorption of fat calories.
Heart Healthy Nutrition: Eat the Right Fats
But wait, not all fats are bad, and some actually contribute to a healthier heart. Watch your labels and avoid all trans fats and keep the saturated fats to a minimum.
These fats lead to higher levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol. Eggs aren’t nearly as bad as processed and fried foods like potato chips and packaged cookies.
Unsaturated fats are actually key to maintaining a healthy heart. This includes Omega 3 fatty acids, such as those found in salmon, canola oil, flaxseed, and walnuts. It also includes Omega 6 fatty acids, as found in vegetable oils and soy, and monounsaturated fats found in nuts and avocados.
These healthy fats can easily be added to your diet with a supplement like a high quality ultra-filetered AllMax Nutrition Omega 3. Other great options include Optimum Flaxseed Oil Softgels and Optimum Fish Oil Softgels.
For cooking, try using Nutiva Organic Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil. It contains a special kind of saturated fat that actually helps you lose weight, reduces cholesterol, and contributes to a healthy heart.
Heart Healthy Nutrition: Lose the Extra Pounds
One of the biggest predictors of heart disease is obesity and body fat. But you can do a number of things to cut that extra body fat today. Try a natural fat metabolizer like Irwin Naturals Green Tea Fat Metabolizer, increase your natural protein intake with a supplement like Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein, and eat often to keep your metabolism in high gear.
For snacking, go for a healthy protein bar like Supreme Protein Carb Conscious Bars.
Have any questions or feedback about heart healthy nutrition guidelines? Please leave a comment below…
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Heart Healthy Nutrition Guidelines
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