How to Choose Superfoods Good for Your Heart

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1Including Heart-Healthy Foods

2Finding Heart-Healthy Superfood Snacks

3Adding Heart Healthy Grains, Nuts, and Seeds

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Eating a proper diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables can help reduce your risk of heart disease. Though a balanced diet will promote heart health, you may want to include some superfoods in your diet that help your heart. To include heart-healthy super foods, add vegetables like dark, leafy greens and tomatoes, eat fatty fish, include berries, and snack on nuts. Vegetables should make up at least half of every meal. Be sure to eat lean proteins, low-fat dairy, and healthy fats as well.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Including Heart-Healthy Foods

1. 
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   Eat dark, leafy greens. Kale is a green that can be used in a variety of ways and paired with almost any food. Dark, leafy greens like Swiss chard or collard, mustard, and turnip greens are superfoods that are good for your heart. They are full of antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties, which helps promote heart health.

   • Use kale and other dark leafy greens to make salads or side dishes. Replace pasta or rice with a bed of steamed greens with your meat and sauce. You can also make snacks, like kale chips.
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   Eat more tomatoes. Tomatoes can help improve your heart health. Tomatoes contain high levels of vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin A, which can help lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease. They are also full of antioxidants that can help lower your cholesterol.

   • Eat tomatoes raw or cooked. Cooking tomatoes can boost the antioxidant properties, so put them in casseroles, sauces, and other dishes.
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   Eat fish. Fish with omega-3 fats can help promote heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk of heart problems such as irregular heartbeats and plaque buildup, along with lowering triglyceride levels. Consider eating fatty fish twice each week for heart health benefits.

   • Fatty fish includes salmon, mackerel, and sardines.
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   Add in some beans and lentils. Beans and lentils are also beneficial to heart health. They help lower cholesterol and lower your risk of heart disease. Add one serving (3/4 cup) of beans or lentils to your meals each day for maximum benefits.

   • You can try black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, and peas.
   • Beans and lentils may cause some minor digestive side effects, like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, or gas.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Finding Heart-Healthy Superfood Snacks

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   Include berries. Berries are full of antioxidants that can help improve heart health. Berries may also lower the risk of heart attack. Try eating blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and acai berries.

   • Eat berries as snacks, or put them in smoothies or Greek yogurt. Make sure not to cover them with sugar, which can lessen their heart healthy benefits.
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   Indulge in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate can provide heart healthy benefits. Eating dark chocolate may help reduce your risk of heart attacks and strokes. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants that also help reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and promote clotting. Make sure to eat dark chocolate in moderation.

   • Dark chocolate only has these benefits if you eat at least 60% cocoa.
   • Milk chocolate does not have any heart healthy benefits. Make sure not to eat dark chocolate combined with a lot of other sugary junk food in a candy bar.
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   Eat more citrus. Citrus foods can help improve your heart health. They contain antioxidants that may lower your risk for a stroke. Citrus fruit also contains vitamin C, which can lower your risk of heart disease.

   • Eat oranges, grapefruits, mandarins, lemons, and limes.
   • Be careful with juices. Most juices contain added sugar and other unhealthy additives. If you want to drink citrus juice, look for 100% natural juice.
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   Drink almond milk. Almond milk is a heart-healthy superfood. It’s heart healthy since it has no cholesterol or saturated fats. Almond milk also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which helps lower bad cholesterol levels.

   • Almond milk does not contain high levels of protein, unlike cow’s milk.
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   Snack on pomegranates. Pomegranates are a great superfood for your heart. They contain antioxidants, and these particular antioxidants are believed to have some of the strongest effects for lowering bad cholesterol. They also help lower blood pressure and protect against the hardening of your arteries.

   • Eat pomegranates plain, or place them in smoothies, yogurt, or even salads.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Adding Heart Healthy Grains, Nuts, and Seeds

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   Try whole grains. Whole grains can help lower your risk of heart disease. They contain antioxidants and fiber, which help promote heart health. Whole grains include oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat.

   • Try replacing refined grains like white bread, white rice, and processed breads, cereals, and baked goods with whole grain alternatives.
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   Add flaxseeds to your recipes. Flaxseeds are a superfood that have a lot of benefits, including heart health. They contain omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Flaxseeds can lower cholesterol, help reduce plaque buildup, and reduce your risk of stroke and heart attack.

   • You can add flaxseeds to just about anything you eat. Put them in smoothies, cereal, yogurt, salads, sauces, or casseroles.
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   Snack on nuts. Nuts are a heart superfood. They contain heart healthy fiber, along with vitamin E, which can lower your cholesterol. Many nuts, such as walnuts, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which can boost heart health.

   • Eat almonds, walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, and Brazil nuts.
   • Make sure to get unsalted varieties.
   • You should eat nuts in moderation because of their high calorie count. Eating too many nuts may cause you to gain weight.
4. 
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   Sprinkle chia seeds into your foods. Chia seeds are a superfood that help your heart. They may help reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure. Chia seeds may also help reverse the hardening of the arteries. They also contain omega-3 fatty acids.

   • Put chia seeds into anything, like smoothies, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, casseroles, or soups.
   • You can make chia seed pudding by soaking chia seeds in almond milk overnight.
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