The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Hearts will love these healthful eating options
Day-to-day life is busy enough, and thinking about keeping your heart healthy might not always be top of mind.
It’s good to remember that a healthful lifestyle is essential for your heart. Instead of worrying about your heart or simply ignoring the risks, take action by eating tasty foods that also protect your cardiovascular system.
Because heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women — one in four deaths in the United States each year is due to heart disease — this is an issue that affects nearly everyone. Controlling or preventing high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels as well as not smoking is key to decreasing your risk of heart disease.
Other factors that can up the risk of heart problems include diabetes, being overweight or obese, inactivity and poor diet.
While maintaining a healthful weight plays a role in good heart health, simply controlling portions and exercising is not enough.
In addition, many wellknown fad diets for weight loss, such as high protein diets and the ketogenic diet, are not proven to support heart health. Researchers are still looking at how these high fat and high protein diets might affect blood lipid levels and the vital organs.
An eating plan based on nutrient-dense superfoodscan help you reduce the risk for heart disease.
Here are some hearthealthful superfoods to incorporate into your daily menu:
Tuna
Eating the weekly recommended two servings of omega-3 fatty acid-rich seafood, such as tuna, helps reduce the risk of heart disease.
Studies have shown that eating seafood just twice a week can reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks by 36 percent. Plus, tuna is high in protein and contains considerable amounts of
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