Take heart: What’s on your plate can help maintain your cardiac capacity. “Heart-healthy foods contain nutrients that have been shown to benefit the cardiovascular system or reduce the risk of developing heart disease by lowering ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and blood triglycerides, reducing blood pressure, controlling weight and/or improving insulin sensitivity,” says Rania Batayneh, MPH, the owner of Essential Nutrition For You and the author of The One One One Diet.
Omega-3s, potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants earn top marks in these categories, making the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet top choices for those seeking to maintain or improve heart health.
Science backs up this premise: A menu centered around produce, whole grains, nuts and beans, plus a little dairy and heart-healthy fats can help reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease by about a third, according to a 2016 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. So which foods get the green light from dietitians and which ones get the red light? Here are the 40 worst foods for your heart.
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Ditch the deli. “Even the lower-fat versions of cured lunch meats contain the preservative sodium nitrate,” says Suzanne Fisher, RD, LDN, founder of Fisher Nutrition Systems in Cooper City, Florida.
Nitrates may increase internal inflammation, and “chronic inflammation has a direct link to the development of atherosclerosis,” the stiffening or narrowing of the arteries, she adds.
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Linked closely to cold cuts is another cured meat option: franks.
“Hot dogs and sausages can be high in saturated fat. Even low-fat options tend to be packed with salt. It’s important to watch your sodium intake, as more dietary sodium often leads to
Read More: Cardiologists Say These Are The Worst Foods For Your Heart, And There Goes My
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The meaning of health has evolved over time. In keeping with the biomedical perspective, early definitions of health focused on the theme of the body's ability to function; health was seen as a state of normal function that could be disrupted from time to time by disease. An example of such a definition of health
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