Introduction
When it comes to keeping your heart healthy, what you eat is just as important as how much you exercise. Eating the right foods can help reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Cardiologists have identified the #1 best food for your heart, and it’s something you can easily incorporate into your diet. In this article, we’ll discuss why this food is so beneficial for your heart health and how you can incorporate it into your diet. We’ll also provide some tips on what to avoid so you can make the best choices for your heart health. So, if you’re looking to improve your heart health, read on to learn more about the #1 best food for your heart and how to make it part of your diet.
The #1 Best Food for Your Heart, Says Cardiologist — Eat This Not That
If you’re looking for the best food for your heart, a cardiologist has the answer. According to Dr. Robert Ostfeld, director of preventive cardiology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, the best food for your heart is fish.
Fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of heart disease. Fish is also a great source of lean protein, which helps keep your heart healthy.
Dr. Ostfeld recommends eating fish at least twice a week. He suggests eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, which are especially high in omega-3 fatty acids. He also recommends avoiding fried fish, as it can be high in unhealthy fats.
In addition to eating fish, Dr. Ostfeld recommends eating a variety of other heart-healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. He also recommends limiting your intake of processed foods, saturated fats, and added sugars.
By following these simple tips, you can help keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk of heart disease. So, the next time you’re looking for the best food for your heart, remember to eat this, not that!
Heart disease is a serious issue that leads to the death of almost 700,000 Americans every single year. The CDC says that around 805,000 people in the US have a heart attack every year, but the most common form of heart disease is actually coronary artery disease.
Your diet is a crucial risk factor when it comes to any type of heart disease. Things like eating a lot of saturated fat and trans fats can lead to higher cholesterol, which can negatively impact the health of your arteries by causing plaque buildup. Having high blood pressure, not getting enough exercise, diabetes, and carrying around extra weight are also leading risk factors of heart disease.
Because diet and lifestyle are so closely linked to heart health, we wanted to learn more about the types of food that are the best for your heart. To do this, we talked with Dr. William Davis, cardiologist and NY Times best-selling author of Super Gut.
While there a plenty of heart-healthy foods to eat, there’s one that Dr. Davis doesn’t want readers to skip over. “My favorite food for heart health that many people neglect is kimchi, i.e., traditionally fermented cabbage that is popular in Korea, often eaten at every meal.”
Continue reading to learn more about how kimchi can help your heart, and for more health tips, check out The Best Eating Habits of the Longest-Living People in the World.
How fermented food can help your heart
People don’t often think of fermented foods when they are considering things to eat for their heart, but Dr. Davis believes you may want to start.
“The process of fermentation means that very beneficial microbial species are typically present,” he says, “and these microbes generate many benefits for humans when kimchi is consumed. These benefits include reduced blood sugar, reduced insulin resistance, reduced body-wide inflammation, and production of vitamins B1, B2, B7, and B9 (folate).”
In other words, fermented food can help you have a healthy gut microbiota, which can, in turn, can help reduce your risk of things like high blood pressure and chronic inflammation, which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
According to Harvard Health, there is an enormous connection between the microbes found in your gut and your cardiovascular system, which means that keeping a healthy gut can help you have a healthy heart, too.
The takeaway
At the end of the day, you can’t look to just one type of food to keep your heart healthy. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says that a healthy heart comes from eating heart-healthy foods, exercising regularly, managing stress when you can, getting enough good-quality sleep, lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol, and managing your weight.
So while you can’t count on just one food to protect you from heart disease, incorporating kimchi or other fermented food into your diet can help you care for your gut and heart health simultaneously.
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