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5 Foods that Boost Your Heart Health

http://blog.drdavidwilliams.com/blog/digestive-health-guidance/5-foods-that-boost-your-heart-health

We all know there’s no more important muscle in the body than your heart. It’s your hardest-working muscle and requires the best of care. There are so many delicious foods that actually promote heart health that it’s hard to imagine why anyone ever created the fake and processed foods that line grocery aisles today.

Here are five of my favorite heart-healthy foods:

1. Eggs: We’ve been told for years to avoid eggs—especially the yolk. However, egg yolks are one of the richest sources of choline, which keeps the cholesterol in the egg moving through the bloodstream so it can’t build up in arterial walls. Eggs also contain minerals, vitamins, and essential amino acids.

2. Onions: People seem to either love onions or hate them. Personally, I love them—which is fortunate for me because a love affair with onions can have a profound positive effect on your heart. If you want to help keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels at normal levels, you should eat a serving of onions with your meals.

3. Soybeans: Including soybean products in your diet can help promote normal cholesterol levels and support a healthy heart. Several choices for soybean sources are available: tofu (soybean curd), tempeh (a fermented culture prepared from the whole bean), miso (soybean-paste soup), soymilk, soy grits, roasted soy nuts, soybean sprouts, soy flour, and the soy flakes that are often used as meat extenders.

4. Nuts: Despite the weather, I always enjoy the coming of winter, because grocery stores put out large displays of various types of nuts. I stock up on bags of walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. Most people incorrectly think that since nuts are high in fat they must be unhealthy. However, the fat in nuts includes essential fatty acids like omega-6s and omega-9s. You should eat about three ounces of nuts a day to get the full advantage of these EFAs.

5. Flax: Thousands of years ago our ancestors revered flax as a powerful food.  In this country, flax hasn’t enjoyed much of a revival among medical circles. It’s too simple, too inexpensive, and it works. I guess that’s three strikes against it. Most people can convert the fatty acid LNA found in flax into EPA, one of the beneficial fatty acids. If you’re one of those people, then you have the added benefit of knowing that the EPA your body makes from flax is the freshest possible since it’s made within your body and is used almost instantly.

Now its your turn: Which of these foods do you eat?

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