Things That Stress Out Your Heart
Here are a few factors that negatively impact heart health (8):
Smoking: Nicotine constricts blood vessels and increases your risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack.
Poor diet: Eating too much fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol can contribute towards heart disease.
High blood pressure: Chronic high blood pressure hardens, thickens, and narrows your blood vessels.
High cholesterol: High cholesterol leads to the formation of arterial plaque and atherosclerosis.
Diabetes: Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease.
Obesity: Excess weight can contribute towards other risk factors.
Physical inactivity: Lack of exercise contributes towards other risk factors and can lead to a weak heart muscle.
Stress: Chronic stress damages your blood vessels and heart, and negatively impacts heart health.
Poor immune function: Some viral or bacterial infections can put you at risk of heart infections.
Top 17 Foods to Clean Your Arteries (Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke)
Here are the heart healthy foods your body is begging you to eat!
1. Avocado
Avocado contains heart healthy fiber, vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium, and healthy fats. In fact, their monounsaturated fats lower cholesterol to improve heart disease risk factors (9). Plus, avocados are incredibly tasty and are great in homemade guacamole or desserts. You can also use avocado oil to make salad dressing.
2. Blueberries
Blueberries are a tasty fruit that contains a ton of antioxidants. A 2013 study on women aged 25-42 found that eating 3 or more servings of blueberries and strawberries a week reduced heart disease risk by 32%. This is mainly due to anthocyanins and flavonoids that decrease blood pressure and dilate blood vessels (10). Blueberries are also rich in fiber, and the combination helps control cholesterol levels as well as plaque.
3. Almonds
Almonds contain omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, vitamin E, and magnesium, all of which protect your heart. In fact, nut consumption is positively associated with a lower risk of heart disease for both women and men. Nuts also lower your risk of gallstones and prevents diabetes in women (11). As with blueberries, you can eat them as an individual snack or mix them into yogurt.
4. Dark Chocolate
