| It's no secret that eating fewer fast food burgers and | | | | great source of plant based omega 3 fatty acids. |
| giant frappuccinos will improve heart health, but did you | | | | Greens can be a delicious part of your meal even if |
| know that eating more heart healthy foods is just as | | | | you would never touch Popeye's can of spinach! Add |
| important? Many of the foods you already enjoy will | | | | fresh, dark leafy greens to sandwiches, on tacos, or |
| help reduce cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglyceride | | | | topping your next pizza. Add greens to a quick frittata, |
| levels, leaving your heart healthy and your mouth | | | | or toss a handful of spinach into a pot of soup. Sliced |
| happy! So bypass fatty, salt-laden processed foods | | | | kale, chard, or cress make great additions to stir-fries, |
| and replace them with: | | | | pasta dishes and casseroles. |
| Avocado: Eat creamy, delicious avocados to lower | | | | Tea: Tea is full of antioxidants that help protect |
| LDL (or bad cholesterol) and regulate blood pressure. | | | | arteries from damage and reduce blood pressure |
| Rich in monounsaturated fats, minerals, plant sterols | | | | levels. Drinking just two cups of tea each day can |
| and soluable fiber, avocados pack a powerful heart | | | | lower your risk of heart attack and stroke by 40%, |
| healthy punch by "ushering" cholesterol right out of the | | | | and may reduce recovery time for those who have |
| body. | | | | had heart attacks. Tea will help you lose weight and its |
| However, avocados are high in calories so limit your | | | | natural fluoride strengthens teeth. |
| intake to about 1/4 avocado per day. Add sliced | | | | Drink black, white, oolong or green tea, but it must be |
| avocado to turkey or egg salad sandwiches, or mash | | | | brewed tea not the powdered, instant kind. Chose a |
| avocado and use instead of mayonnaise. Top a salad | | | | cup of black tea for a late afternoon pick me up, have |
| or low-fat tacos with avocado chunks, or make a | | | | a mid-morning cup of green tea to boost your immune |
| refreshing smoothie with avocado, yogurt and soymilk. | | | | system, and choose unsweetened iced tea instead of |
| When purchasing avocados, choose those that are | | | | soda. Herbal tea, while a delicious drink, does not |
| soft to the touch, but not mushy. Harder avocados will | | | | provide the same healthy heart benefits. |
| continue to ripen if left at room temperature. | | | | Citrus Fruits: Oranges and their citrus cousins; |
| Kiwi: Kiwi is the unsung hero of heart health. Although | | | | grapefruit, lemons, limes and tangerines, are full of heart |
| there are several options available to help lower | | | | healthy soluable fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, minerals and |
| cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels are notoriously | | | | antioxidants that lower cholesterol levels. Eating just |
| difficult to reduce. Triglycerides in the blood cause | | | | one orange a day can reduce the risk of stroke by |
| platelets to stick together, promoting clots. Clots are | | | | 25%. Citrus fruits also lower triglyceride levels, blood |
| often the cause of strokes and/or heart attacks. | | | | pressure levels, and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. In |
| Eating kiwi on a regular basis can reduce both | | | | addition, citrus fruits reduce arterial plaque while |
| triglyceride levels and reduce the stickiness of the | | | | increasing HDL (good cholesterol) levels! |
| remaining triglycerides. Kiwi's high potassium content | | | | Orange and tangerines in particular are versatile |
| also helps regulate blood pressure. | | | | additions to the kitchen and can be used |
| Use kiwi in any recipe calling for fresh pineapple. Add | | | | interchangeably. Add orange segments to fruit or |
| versatile kiwi to salads, smoothies, baked with chicken | | | | green salads, to chicken or pork while baking, or grind |
| or pork, sliced and added to a glass of iced tea, or | | | | them up and mix with cranberries and a little sugar for |
| pureed and used as a marinade. A ripe kiwi will have a | | | | a simple relish. Substitute orange juice for milk when |
| little give to it when gently squeezed. Harder kiwi will | | | | making pancakes or muffins, or add to stews and |
| ripen after a few days at room temperature. | | | | bean dishes for a Caribbean flavor. Lemon and limes |
| Leafy Greens: Eat spinach, kale, Swiss chard, cress, | | | | are most often used as juice to flavor both sweet and |
| mache, purslane or other leafy greens for a healthy | | | | savory dishes. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can be |
| heart. Excellent sources of calcium and antioxidants, | | | | used most anywhere orange juice can, but there is a |
| greens help prevent arterial plaque build-up by reducing | | | | caveat. Grapefruit interferes with some statin |
| inflammation. Their high mineral content also helps | | | | medications, so check with your doctor before adding |
| reduce blood pressure levels. Leafy greens are also a | | | | grapefruit to your diet. |