Balanced diet for a healthy heart
Our overall health highly depends on our food habits and lifestyle. We can keep our heart healthy by eating nutritious food and maintaining a balanced diet with regular physical activities. A balanced heart healthy diets include the proper proportion of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fiber, and water. Some heart healthy balanced diet includes following foods:
In our daily diet, we should include some whole grains like whole grain bread, brown rice, barley, oatmeal and whole grain pasta etc.
- A variety of vegetables and dark leafy greens are crucial for a healthy heart because they contain lots of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. Therefore, we should regularly eat vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, beet roots, broccoli, cucumbers, beans, onion, eggplants, jalapenos and leafy greens like spinach, kale, cabbage, collards, turnip greens, mustard leaf, Bok choy, celery, asparagus etc.
- Food with omega 3 fatty acid is extremely beneficial for the heart, it reduces bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. We get omega 3 fatty acid in salmon, mackerel fish, herring fish, oyster, pumpkin seeds, cod liver oil, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts. Including a proper amount of omega 3 in our diet may keep us away from heart diseases.
- Including fruits in our diet is important because fruits contain lots of heart healthy vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Therefore, we must consume various fruits like avocado, watermelon, apple, grapes, banana, orange, lemon, plum, pineapple, kiwi etc. and berries like blue berries, raspberries, cranberries, and strawberries.
- Lentils, beans, and peas are essential for a healthy heart because they provide lots of protein, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and anti-inflammatory compounds but they do not have harmful saturated fat. There are varieties of beans like black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans and different type of peas like chick peas, green peas and by including them in our diet we can get various health benefits.
- Water has an important role to keep the heart healthy because the lack of water may also a reason of different health issues including heart diseases. Drinking plenty of water is essential for providing a proper hydration to our body.
The Proper amount of low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry, lean ground meat and egg white are some essential protein rich foods good for a healthy heart. By adopting a habit of balanced heart healthy diets, we can get rid of various health problems.