Foods That Improve Heart Health of Women
Eating right is one of the most important ways to keep heart disease at bay. Here are some diet tips to help women keep their hearts healthy. Studies have shown that the risk of cardiac disease can be cut down by 80% with a health-healthy diet.
Recommended Foods For Heart Health
- A study shows that American women who include a lot of fish, whole grains, plant proteins, and monosaturated fats are less likely to get a stroke or heart disease. Experts say that women might like to switch to a Mediterranean-style diet that includes nuts, beans, and fish instead of red meat, for better cardiac health.
image from :freedigitalphotos.net - To lower the LDL cholesterol, you can avoid refined carbohydrates that are high in glycemic as this produces more cholesterol and raises the insulin level of the body. High insulin can increase the risk of heart disease.
- Eat more of soluble fiber as this tends to bind with the cholesterol, thus, removing it from the body. Fiber is also good to help the body flush out toxins and remain healthy.
- You should avoid trans fats or partially hydrogenated foods as well as saturated fats, as these can increase the level of cholesterol in the blood.
- Not all fats are bad, and some are good for the body too. Fats are important for good health, and you need to ascertain, which fats are good and which are bad. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are good fats and are good for heart health. These even reduce the level of bad cholesterol and can help the cells in the body function well by nourishing them with nutrients. Include food products with omega-3 and 6 fatty acids that can be found in avocados, vegetable oil, fish, seeds, and nuts.
- Include fish in your diet as these have omega-3 fatty acids. Cold water fish like sardines, mackerel, herring, and salmon are good for your cardiac health. Health experts suggest that we must eat fish at least twice a week.
- Carbohydrates are good and bad for your health, depending upon the kind of carbohydrates that you eat. Refined carbohydrates are bad for the health and are known to lower the level of good HDL cholesterol. But complex carbohydrates are building blocks for heart health. Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are said to be good for the health.
- Try to use vegetable oil, especially olive oil instead of butter for cooking. Vegetable oils are rich in monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
- Calcium and potassium are also good for heart health.