Eat Your Heart Out With These Cardiovascular-Friendly Nutrition Tips
By the time you reach adulthood, you’ve likely been told time and time again that you need to maintain a balanced diet in order to live a healthy life. But what does that mean, exactly — and how does your diet directly impact vital organs like your heart, anyway?
Put simply: Experts tend to recommend a veggie-forward diet that minimizes saturated fat intake because it can help keep your blood flow strong and your heart pumping healthily. On the other hand, a diet filled with saturated fats, carbohydrates, and red meats can damage your blood flow and lead to heart issues.
To better understand the ins and outs of a diet focused on cardiovascular health, we spoke with Victoria Vieira-Potter, Ph.D., an associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Dr. Vieira-Potter gives us all her tips about what to eat to keep your heart strong for decades to come.
The basics of eating to promote heart health, according to a nutritionist
No two bodies are exactly the same — so of course no two bodies will reap the same exact health benefits from a similar diet. As Dr. Vieira-Potter notes, your age and your sex will play a role in your heart health, too, regardless of how perfect your diet may be.
“Older individuals and males are at a higher risk of developing heart disease,” Dr. Vieira-Potter says.
With that said, there are a few rules of thumb that any person can follow to optimize their diet for cardiovascular benefits. “High levels of sodium, which is especially common in processed food, contribute to the progression of high blood pressure,” Dr. Vieira-Potter notes. “One of the many risk factors for heart disease is diabetes; high blood sugar stresses the cardiovascular system.”
You should also keep an eye on your alcohol intake, she suggests, along with “salt, added sugar, and saturated fats.” These indulgences can cause fat to build along the walls of your arteries, which hurts blood flow and can lead to heart disease and other cardiovascular health issues.
“These nutrients are easier to avoid in a diet low in processed foods,” Dr. Vieira-Potter points out.
Are Cheerios healthy when it comes to cholesterol?
You might have seen the way Cheerios advertises itself as a “heart-healthy” breakfast. So why is that?
According to Dr. Vieira-Potter, the nutritious aspect of Cheerios has to do with the fact that they’re made of whole-grain oats.
“[Because of that], Cheerios are higher in fiber than some other breakfast cereals,” Dr. Vieira-Potter explains. “High fiber diets have been shown to decrease cholesterol levels. She says generally breakfast cereals tend to be high in carbohydrates and can raise blood sugar. “So as far as cereals go, Cheerios would be a good choice for heart health compared to some others.”
So if you’re choosing between Cheerios for breakfast or Captain Crunch, then yes, you’re being considerate of your health by opting for the former. But with that said, there are much healthier options you can consider, too, if cardiovascular health is your end goal.
The best meal choices overall for heart health
You can stick with those Cheerios if you want — but if you’re serious about cardiovascular health, the popular cereal isn’t your only option.
According to doctors at Cleveland Clinic, the best breakfast includes a mix of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Some ideal (and easily made) breakfast options include oatmeal (feel free to add fruit and nuts), a homemade egg and cheese on an English muffin (no, a fast-food breakfast sandwich doesn’t count), or overnight oats.
Whatever you do, just make sure you don’t end up skipping breakfast altogether — because as it turns out, even a less-than-perfectly-healthy breakfast might be better for your longevity than no breakfast at all.
A recent study conducted at the University of Iowa College of Public Health found that people who never eat breakfast are 87 percent more likely to suffer a death related to cardiovascular disease. Even more, skipping breakfast increases the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and more.
So even if your breakfast isn’t a home run every single day, make sure you grab something to eat anyway.
As for what to eat for lunch, the American Heart Association suggests meal-prepping something that will keep you full and energized, like low-sodium tuna on whole-wheat bread or a platter of fruit and low-fat string cheese. For dinner, you could peruse this wide-ranging list of healthy dinner options, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic, which includes fun recipes for shrimp ceviche, marinated portobello mushrooms, minestrone soup, and more.
The most heart-healthy foods
Here are the seven best foods to prioritize in your daily calorie intake, according to Dr. Vieira-Potter:
Both work as antioxidants and help reduce the build-up of plaque in your arteries.
Fibrous grains help to break down cholesterol and move food waste through to the digestive tract.
These good fats are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol and drastically reduce your risk of heart attack.
Like nuts, salmon is filled with omega-3 fatty acids, which decrease the risk of cardiovascular damage or failure.
Dairy in itself isn’t good for your heart, but a low-fat dairy option is a good substitute for higher-fat products that damage cholesterol.
Lean meats are a good source of protein, zinc, iron, and other essential vitamins that keep your heart strong.
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