| Heart disease kills every 7 minutes in Canada. Obesity | | | | the arteries. |
| and lack of exercise can contribute to cardiovascular | | | | Extra virgin olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats that |
| problems. Choosing and eating wisely and engaging in | | | | lower bad cholesterol when they replace saturated |
| physical activities will greatly reduce your risk of | | | | fats in the diet. Replace saturated fat rich foods with |
| developing heart disease. | | | | olive oil, avocado, and nuts. |
| Reduce Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) | | | | An ounce of almonds a day lowers the LDL by |
| Swiss chard is loaded with potassium and is rich in | | | | 13%-20%. Almonds are heart healthy because they |
| calcium and magnesium. Fresh herbs like rosemary, | | | | have the most vitamin E and they are a good source |
| chives, parsley, sage, thyme, and oregano are rich in | | | | of calcium. In addition you can also eat oatmeal and |
| antioxidants. They also add much more flavour to | | | | oat bran, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, and pecans. |
| foods than salt. | | | | Barley has high levels of soluble fibre which is digested |
| Low fat or nonfat yogurt has 50% more blood | | | | very slowly and helps lower cholesterol levels. Broccoli |
| pressure lowering calcium and potassium than low fat | | | | is low in calories and has good fibre content. Oranges |
| milk. The other foods that lower high blood pressure | | | | contains pectin which controls cholesterol and is an |
| are skimmed milk, fruit, and protein like lean meats, fish, | | | | excellent source of vitamin C. |
| skinless chicken and turkey. | | | | Reduce Heart Attacks |
| Being diabetic increases your risk of developing high | | | | Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that eases |
| blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases | | | | inflammation. Black beans are loaded with magnesium |
| because diabetes affects the arteries. Eating half a | | | | and dried cherries are loaded with antioxidants that |
| cup of carrots daily decreases the risk of diabetes in | | | | help neutralize enzymes that cause plaque to break |
| women by 27%. Carrots containhigh levels of | | | | apart. |
| antioxidants. Chili pepper also helps because of the | | | | Eat a variety and all colours of fresh or partially |
| capsaicin found in the chili pepper that prevents blood | | | | cooked vegetables. If you fully cook or microwave |
| sugar from rising. | | | | vegetables they lose a lot of their nutrients. |
| Reduce Cholesterol Level | | | | Losing excess weight, exercising daily and eating |
| Garlic has a mild cholesterol lowering effect and it | | | | healthy is the key to preventing heart disease. |
| prevents the bad cholesterol (LDL) from building up in | | | | |