Heart Health – What you Eat Makes a Difference
Cole Carson asked:
Heart health is becoming a hotter and hotter topic these days. Everybody knows that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of Americans, we’ve heard the numbers for years now. The great news is that there are plenty of amazing things we can do at any age to help upkeep the health of our most important organ. As we all know, exercise and keeping fit are extraordinarily important, but there are also many vitamins and foods that contain numerous benefits in keeping our hearts healthy and reducing our chances for getting heart disease.
Since we were kids we’ve heard from everywhere and everyone the importance of taking our vitamins, so they’re probably a really great place to start. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to find out that there are certain vitamins that have been shown to decrease our chances of heart disease. The B vitamins have been shown to play an extraordinarily important role in helping to prevent heart problems. A deficiency of the vitamins B9 and B6 cause high levels of a chemical compound called homocysteine in our blood. In high levels, homocysteine weakens and damages arteries, greatly increasing your risk of heart disease. By taking these vitamins you can help your body maintain healthy levels of homocysteine.
The foods you eat are one of the most important factors to your health. Whatever you put in your body gets absorbed, so when you’re eating nutritious foods you’re going to be a much healthier person. There are plenty of foods out there that have been shown to be very effective in keeping your body healthy.
Most fruits are good for our bodies, and blueberries are no exception. These little treats happen to be loaded with anthocyanin, a natural antioxidant. We all know that antioxidants are key to our health, and that they protect our bodies from premature aging by fighting the damage done by free radicals. What many people aren’t aware of, however, is that they can also reduce your risk of developing certain forms of cancer, and help to protect you against heart disease. There’s really no reason not to throw blueberries in your trail mix bag, toss them in with a salad, or eat a handful every day.
Eating fish is also another great way to help keep your heart healthy. Fish is loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, which research has pointed to being extremely beneficial in reducing heart disease by helping to lower cholesterol. While eating fish is definitely the most natural and beneficial way of getting your dose of omega-3 fatty acids, you can also take a fish oil supplement as well.
Foods high in dietary fiber have also been shown to help in reducing cholesterol and keeping your heart healthy, so eating plenty of whole wheat, fruits like apples and bananas, and vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli can make a big difference in your heart’s overall health. Snacking on whole wheat cereals, adding some sliced up fruit to your breakfast, and steaming up some vegetables for dinner is a great way to incorporate these into your diet on a regular basis.
It’s common knowledge what foods need to be avoided to keep our hearts healthy, but this is only half of the solution to achieving total heart nutrition. Incorporating vitamins and foods that benefit your heart, on top of regular exercise, provide the rest of the solution. Heart disease is a very real danger, and the number of victims it claims only rise each year. By choosing a healthier, more nutritious diet, you’re taking a big step to making sure that you aren’t one of those numbers.
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Heart health is becoming a hotter and hotter topic these days. Everybody knows that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of Americans, we’ve heard the numbers for years now. The great news is that there are plenty of amazing things we can do at any age to help upkeep the health of our most important organ. As we all know, exercise and keeping fit are extraordinarily important, but there are also many vitamins and foods that contain numerous benefits in keeping our hearts healthy and reducing our chances for getting heart disease.
Since we were kids we’ve heard from everywhere and everyone the importance of taking our vitamins, so they’re probably a really great place to start. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to find out that there are certain vitamins that have been shown to decrease our chances of heart disease. The B vitamins have been shown to play an extraordinarily important role in helping to prevent heart problems. A deficiency of the vitamins B9 and B6 cause high levels of a chemical compound called homocysteine in our blood. In high levels, homocysteine weakens and damages arteries, greatly increasing your risk of heart disease. By taking these vitamins you can help your body maintain healthy levels of homocysteine.
The foods you eat are one of the most important factors to your health. Whatever you put in your body gets absorbed, so when you’re eating nutritious foods you’re going to be a much healthier person. There are plenty of foods out there that have been shown to be very effective in keeping your body healthy.
Most fruits are good for our bodies, and blueberries are no exception. These little treats happen to be loaded with anthocyanin, a natural antioxidant. We all know that antioxidants are key to our health, and that they protect our bodies from premature aging by fighting the damage done by free radicals. What many people aren’t aware of, however, is that they can also reduce your risk of developing certain forms of cancer, and help to protect you against heart disease. There’s really no reason not to throw blueberries in your trail mix bag, toss them in with a salad, or eat a handful every day.
Eating fish is also another great way to help keep your heart healthy. Fish is loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, which research has pointed to being extremely beneficial in reducing heart disease by helping to lower cholesterol. While eating fish is definitely the most natural and beneficial way of getting your dose of omega-3 fatty acids, you can also take a fish oil supplement as well.
Foods high in dietary fiber have also been shown to help in reducing cholesterol and keeping your heart healthy, so eating plenty of whole wheat, fruits like apples and bananas, and vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli can make a big difference in your heart’s overall health. Snacking on whole wheat cereals, adding some sliced up fruit to your breakfast, and steaming up some vegetables for dinner is a great way to incorporate these into your diet on a regular basis.
It’s common knowledge what foods need to be avoided to keep our hearts healthy, but this is only half of the solution to achieving total heart nutrition. Incorporating vitamins and foods that benefit your heart, on top of regular exercise, provide the rest of the solution. Heart disease is a very real danger, and the number of victims it claims only rise each year. By choosing a healthier, more nutritious diet, you’re taking a big step to making sure that you aren’t one of those numbers.
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Dark Chocolate for Heart Health
Richard van Beek asked:
Medical science is actually telling us to eat dark chocolate for heart health. How is this possible? Up until now, we’ve always thought chocolate was bad for us!
It turns out that dark chocolate made from unprocessed cocoa, contains high amounts of flavonoids and phytochemicals. These are antioxidants found in nutritious foods like raisins, prunes, acai berries, and blueberries. Cocoa has from its origin an incredible high amount of these antioxidants and science has found a way by cold pressing the cocoa. And that’s responsible for the benefits of dark chocolate for heart health.
It’s not just hype by the chocolate manufacturers. Here are the results of just four scientific, placebo-controlled studies recently conducted by medical doctors and universities all over the world, to prove that we can eat dark chocolate for heart health without any guilt.
A study by the American College of Cardiology found that blood flow increased significantly in individuals who consumed cocoa for six weeks. They concluded that more studies need to be done to determine how much cocoa makes a difference. This is only one study that supports the idea that it’s okay to eat dark chocolate for heart health.
In another study, forty-five borderline obese but otherwise healthy adults were given either cocoa or a placebo. Doctors measured their blood pressure both before and after, and found that those who ate the dark chocolate had better blood pressure. The benefits of dark chocolate for heart health are immediate.
The Journal of the American Medical Association has said that eating a reasonable amount of dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure enough to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by up to eight percent. When you add dark chocolate for heart health to all the other things you do, like getting enough exercise and eating a careful diet, it makes a difference.
A study conducted at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, looked at men and women with mildly elevated blood pressure. At the end of the study, those who consumed a small amount of healthy dark chocolate every day had lower blood pressure readings. Those who consumed white chocolate showed no change.
If you’re pregnant or know someone who is, keep in mind that blood pressure rises during pregnancy. A little piece of dark chocolate during pregnancy is a good thing, because it can help regulate blood pressure.
Drinking cocoa had the same effect as eating it, opening up a whole world of possibilities. You can get your healthy cocoa in many ways, dark chocolate for heart health is available in drinks, snacks and chunk form.
Dark chocolate for heart health has just one of the many health benefits and perhaps some that we aren’t aware of at this time. The brand and reputation continues to grow with the scientific researches done nowadays. Helping friends and family better their health and improve their way of life can be achieved by eating dark chocolate for heart health.
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Medical science is actually telling us to eat dark chocolate for heart health. How is this possible? Up until now, we’ve always thought chocolate was bad for us!
It turns out that dark chocolate made from unprocessed cocoa, contains high amounts of flavonoids and phytochemicals. These are antioxidants found in nutritious foods like raisins, prunes, acai berries, and blueberries. Cocoa has from its origin an incredible high amount of these antioxidants and science has found a way by cold pressing the cocoa. And that’s responsible for the benefits of dark chocolate for heart health.
It’s not just hype by the chocolate manufacturers. Here are the results of just four scientific, placebo-controlled studies recently conducted by medical doctors and universities all over the world, to prove that we can eat dark chocolate for heart health without any guilt.
A study by the American College of Cardiology found that blood flow increased significantly in individuals who consumed cocoa for six weeks. They concluded that more studies need to be done to determine how much cocoa makes a difference. This is only one study that supports the idea that it’s okay to eat dark chocolate for heart health.
In another study, forty-five borderline obese but otherwise healthy adults were given either cocoa or a placebo. Doctors measured their blood pressure both before and after, and found that those who ate the dark chocolate had better blood pressure. The benefits of dark chocolate for heart health are immediate.
The Journal of the American Medical Association has said that eating a reasonable amount of dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure enough to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by up to eight percent. When you add dark chocolate for heart health to all the other things you do, like getting enough exercise and eating a careful diet, it makes a difference.
A study conducted at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, looked at men and women with mildly elevated blood pressure. At the end of the study, those who consumed a small amount of healthy dark chocolate every day had lower blood pressure readings. Those who consumed white chocolate showed no change.
If you’re pregnant or know someone who is, keep in mind that blood pressure rises during pregnancy. A little piece of dark chocolate during pregnancy is a good thing, because it can help regulate blood pressure.
Drinking cocoa had the same effect as eating it, opening up a whole world of possibilities. You can get your healthy cocoa in many ways, dark chocolate for heart health is available in drinks, snacks and chunk form.
Dark chocolate for heart health has just one of the many health benefits and perhaps some that we aren’t aware of at this time. The brand and reputation continues to grow with the scientific researches done nowadays. Helping friends and family better their health and improve their way of life can be achieved by eating dark chocolate for heart health.
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