At Healthy Eating Wisdom we want you to enjoy a long, vibrant life. Exercise plays a major role in heart health, and we include many articles explaining which types of exercise are conducive to heart health, and which actually cause damage to our hearts. When it comes to the prevention of, and indeed recovery from a heart attack, foods play a pivotal role. The benefits of eating healthy foods can be extremely far-reaching!
Oily fish
It’s no secret that Omega-3 is one of the premiere heart health foods, you’ll find an abundance of it in many fish including herring, salmon, sardines, tuna, anchovies, and mackerel. Fish oil contains eicosapentaenoic acid, which converts to resolvins in our bodies. This has a significant affect on reducing inflammation, as well as providing other benefits for the cardiovascular system. We recommend you eat a full serving of oily fish at least three times per week; it’s great to include a daily supplement, but you shouldn’t see that as a replacement.
Vegetables
These are nutrient dense, and they provide a broad range of heart health benefits. They are best eaten raw, but if you have to cook them then the less you cook them the better. Eating a lot of vegetables before a main meal can slow the breakdown of carbohydrate in your meal as your body must first deal with the high amount of fiber you’ve eaten, and it can also reduce your overall appetite at the meal. Both these results yield significant benefits for a heart health diet by slowing down the rate at which insulin is released into your bloodstream, and decreasing the oxidative effects of food by reducing caloric intake. In fact, by making a habit of this there’s a good chance you’ll reduce your body fat, which is good news for your heart in the long term.
Fruits
It’s also important to eat a good range of fruits, as they’re also jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, and other important compounds, many of which have antioxidant properties which prevent, or even repair, cell damage in your heart. If at all possible, you should make sure that you include oranges, blueberries, and raw avocado in your diet every week.
Supplements
While it’s true that it’s best to get your nutrition from real food, there are some nutrients which we simply can’t get enough of, no matter how much we eat! Here’s the ones you should definitely include for optimum heart health:
Vitamin C – We advocate a high daily dose of about 4,000-5,000mg. This product can usually be bought in bulk from most health stores, with each capsule providing 1000mg. It’s best to spread out your intake through the day, as vitamin C is water soluble and your body can’t store it. If you have a known digestive disorder then you should consult your doctor before taking high doses of vitamin C, otherwise it’s harmless.
Coenzyme Q-10 – This is vital for basic cellular function, and cannot be overlooked by anyone on a heart attack diet, or anyone with a general interest in health for that matter. We suggest 50-100mg per day.
Chromium – It’s involvement in metabolic function can increase your insulin sensitivity, and help you reduce body fat when taken in conjunction with a balanced diet. A common deficit of this mineral is one of the underlying causes of the diabetes epidemic. The ‘picolinate’ form is the most potent, we recommend 200mcg per day. If you suffer from a blood sugar disorder, then please consult your doctor before taking this product.
Many sources offer low prices on supplements these days, but it’s very important to ensure you buy from a reputable retailer.
In addition to the heart attack foods we’ve detailed here, there are other key players which you will be aware of, such as garlic, and de-caffeinated green tea. Those are also great varieties of heart attack food.
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