Everyone has a list of foods they love, but how many heart-healthy foods top your list? There are many reasons to replace unhealthy favorites with beneficial foods that are good for your heart.
In celebration of American Heart Month, the physicians at Weight Success Centers are listing three tasty foods to satisfy your tastebuds and benefit your heart.
1. Berries are Sweet Treats with Flavor and Flavonoids.
Most likely, some of your favorite sweet treats are loaded with sugar, fat, and empty calories. Few treats, however, pack as much sweetness in a small bite than berries.
Best of all, berries don’t have the unhealthy qualities of candy and sweets. Berries are low-calorie superfoods with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Also, flavonoids in berries could help boost your heart health and fight disease. Popular varieties include strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. And don’t forget to go for the goji berries or try antioxidant-rich desserts with acai berries.
2. Satisfying Foods with Fiber will Fill You Up.
Often, we satisfy our cravings with comfort foods. Instead of opting for the high-fat dishes, allow us to remind you about the warm, creamy, deliciousness of a bowl of oatmeal. In addition to heart-healthy soluble fiber to fill you up, oats offer essential minerals and B vitamins. Additional nutrients in oatmeal add up to help lower bad cholesterol, which helps decrease risk factors of heart disease.
Get creative with your oatmeal flavors instead of just stirring in cow’s milk and sugar. Almond milk, soy milk, berries, bananas, apples, applesauce, or even a small sliver of dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa or higher) will put a delicious bowl of oatmeal at the top of your list of heart-healthy foods.
3. Crunchy Snacks are Great to Savor and Enjoy.
Skip the salty chips and make seeds and nuts your go-to crunchy snacks. Savor a serving of seeds or nuts to get your daily dose of nutrients like protein, fiber, and vitamins. Nuts and seeds also offer minerals like iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc to support heart health. Try snacking on unsalted walnuts, which also offer fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids to help control cholesterol.
This is just the start of a long list of heart-healthy foods to enjoy. From grains and leafy greens to colorful fruits, a heart-healthy diet can help to improve blood circulation and lower cholesterol levels. Also, get creative with healthy vegetables by spicing them up with garlic or exotic herbs. Before you know it, you could be loving the taste, improving your blood flow, and losing weight for heart health.
For more targeted results in improving your cardiovascular health, consult with a physician at one of our Weight Success Centers. Ask us about medically supervised programs for nutrition, weight loss medications, hormone therapies, hair restoration, aesthetics, and medical solutions.
Are you ready to add these heart-healthy foods to your diet and begin the journey to better health? Contact one of our Weight Success Centers near you for a consultation.