Because heart disease the leading cause of death of women Utah and the United States, women everywhere need to start taking care of their heart.
A new research study published this month in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that one way women can promote heart heart is by eating strawberries and blueberries. The research showed that women who eat at least 3 serving of the berries per week had fewer heart attacks.
Blueberries and strawberries promote heart healthy because thy naturally contain dietary flavonoids, which are believed to improve, blood pressure and vascular function. While Blueberries and strawberries were used in the study most fruit and vegetables have flavonoids and will provide the heart healthy benefits. Foods high in flavonoids include cherries, grapes, apples, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots onions, kale, lettuce, tofu and dark chocolate.
Along with increasing you intake of berries here are other ways to promote heart health.
- Increase you intake of whole grains: High fiber foods can help reduce cholesterol and promote healthy weight loss
- Choose lean protein: While protein is important for repairing body tissue and building muscle it can be high in fat and cholesterol. Avoid the fat and cholesterol by eating skinless poultry, Egg whites, beans, nuts and soy products most often
- Eat fish 2-3 times a week: Fish is low in fat and cholesterol. It also is rich in omega 3 fatty acids which promote heart health.
- Avoid high fat foods: These include fatty cuts of beef and pork, ice cream, foods that fried , packaged snack foods, doughnuts and pastries
- Choose Low fat dairy products: It is recommended to choose skin or 1% milk, low fat cheese, low fat cottage cheese and low fat yogurt.
- Limit you intake of salt: An excessive intake of salt can cause high blood pressure. You can limit you salt intake by not salting food at the table, avoid packaged and canned food or choose the low sodium option and limit snack foods such as potato chips, pretzels and crackers.
- Monitor portion sizes: We can reduce the amount of fat, cholesterol and excess calorie in our diet just limit decreasing our portion sizes. Choosemyplate.gov, can help you know what correct portion sizes are.
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