Food for your Heart

For Valentines Day love is in the air, and you can serve a heart healthy meal that also tastes great! Valentines day is associated with chocolate, berries and wine, these foods are all great for your heart as well.  So as you enjoy your romantic meal with your sweetheart, know that you are taking care of your heart. Here are some great heart healthy foods. Tomorrow I’ll share a great Valentines heart healthy menu with you.

Salmon and Tuna
Eating two or more servings of fish per week is associated with a 30 percent lower risk of developing heart disease. Omega-3s also lower blood pressure slightly and can help prevent irregular heart rhythms.

Oatmeal
Omega-3 fatty acids; magnesium; potassium; folate; niacin; calcium; soluble fiber. A great breakfast food that helps reduce your cholesterol

Whole Grains

People who eat plenty of whole grains tend to be leaner and have a lower risk of heart disease than those who don’t. This is probably because whole grains contain antioxidants, and high fiber that are protective against heart disease.

Beans, beans, beans are good for your heart! 
1⁄2 cup of cooked pinto beans daily might lower cholesterol. It  prevents the adhesion of platelets in the blood, which can help lower risk for heart attack and strokes.

Nuts

Research suggests that people who eat nuts—walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, pine nuts and peanuts (which actually are legumes) two to four days  per week have a lower chance of heart disease

Red wine
Let’s drink to good health! A glass of red wine could improve “good” HDL cholesterol.  people who drink moderately are less likely to have heart disease than those who do not. Drinking in moderation may protect the heart by raising  HDL cholesterol, decreasing inflammation and “thinning the blood” (preventing clots that can cause heart attack and stroke). Moderate drinking also increases estrogen, which protects the heart—a benefit particularly helpful to postmenopausal women whose reduced estrogen levels increase their risk of heart disease. Remember, 1 drink equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

Brown rice

Helps lower your cholesterol.

Yogurt may protect against gum disease. Left unchecked, gum disease may elevate a person’s risk for heart disease.

Apples are also rich in pectin, a form of soluble fiber known to help lower cholesterol, and they provide a decent amount of vitamin C, another antioxidant.

Tomatoes

An excellent source of vitamin C, plus vitamin A, potassium and fiber, tomatoes are high in lycopene. Cooking may actually increase the health benefits

Berries

Eating just under a cup of mixed berries daily for eight weeks was associated with increased levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and lowered blood pressure, that is great when it comes to heart health,

 Pomegranates

Studies have shown that the fruit may help to reduce the buildup of plaque in arteries and lower blood pressure.

Popcorn

Popcorn delivers polyphenols—antioxidants linked to improving heart health. Gram for gram, popcorn boasts three times more polyphenols than kidney beans (the highest vegetable polyphenol source) and four times more than cranberries (the best fruit source), according to recent research out of the University of Scranton.

Bananas

One banana has 422 mg—about 12 percent of your recommended daily dose—of potassium. The potassium in bananas helps maintain normal heart function and the balance of sodium and water in the body. Potassium helps the kidneys excrete excess sodium, thereby contributing to healthy blood pressure. This mineral is especially important for people taking diuretics for heart disease, which combat sodium and water retention but also strip potassium from the body in the process. Other good sources include sweet potates (694 mg for one medium), nonfat yogurt (579 mg for 1 cup) and spinach (419 mg for 1/2 cup, cooked).

Raisins

Research has shown that antioxidants in raisins fight the growth of a type of bacteria that can cause inflammation and gum disease. People with gum disease—which affects up to 50 percent of American adults—are twice as likely to suffer from heart problems.

Dark chocolate
Researchers have discovered that eating moderate amounts of  rich dark chocolate has a blood-thinning effect,may also boost the immune system by reducing inflammation. Maintaining youthful blood vessels lowers risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and dementia. Choose 70% or higher cocoa content.

Tea

Some of the strongest evidence of tea’s health benefits comes from studies of heart disease. Scientists have found that those who drink 12 ounces or more of tea a day are about half as likely to have a heart attack as nontea drinkers. Green tea is a great choice.

Other great heart healthy foods are:

Carrots, Spinach, Broccoli, Sweet potato, Red bell peppers, Asparagus, Acorn squash

Oranges,Cantaloupe, Papaya

Greek Yogurt

Going to the grocery store and picking out a yogurt can be very time consuming. Have all the yogurts gotten you confused? There are more yogurts to choose from now than ever before. Fat free, gluten free, soy, coconut, parfaits, low calorie,and  low carb. Wow what next? The list just keeps going on. Here is some information on the yogurt culture.

Yogurt restores beneficial bacteria in the digestion after antibiotics, help promote good gum health.
Greek yogurt is high in protein,  a  6-ounce serving contains 15 to 20 grams, that is about  the same amount in 2 to 3 ounces piece of lean meat. That makes it particularly appealing to vegetarians, who sometimes struggle to get enough protein.  An identical serving of regular yogurt, on the other hand, provides just 9 grams of protein.
Greek yogurt is a great  choice for low-carb dieters. It contains roughly half the carbs as the regular yogurt—5 to 8 grams per serving compared with 13 to 17.

Greek yogurt goes through a  straining process, it  removes some of the milk sugar, lactose, making Greek yogurt less likely to upset the lactose-intolerant. It also removes some of the calcium, so it has a lower calium count. Greek yogurt has a high fat content. In just 7 ounces, Greek yogurt packs 16 grams of saturated fat. That is  80 percent of your total daily allowance if you’re on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Eating yogurt can help weight loss. Harvard researchers found that yogurt can help keep age-related weight gain in check.

I like to use Greek yogurt,  in many different ways  to take advantage of its versatility. I  mix it with seasonings like garlic or dill to create  unique dips for vegetables. Or  toss in some berries or  granola for a great breakfast, snack or dessert.

You can also substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream on tacos or baked potato.  It can be added to a beef stroganoff.  It’s  an excellent swap for mayonnaise;  in  potato salad, egg salad, pasta salad, and coleslaw.

For a quick and easy dessert it can easily be turned into a parfait.   Add you favorite sugar free pudding to the Greek yogurt and fold in whip topping.  Add fruit to the top and it looks pretty enough to serve to guests.

Papaya

Papayas are an excellent source of vitamin C as well as a good source of vitamin E and vitamin A,  three very powerful antioxidants. It is a very good source of folate and potassium. In addition, it is a good source of dietary fiber.
Encourages the renewal of muscle tissue.
Supports cardiovascular system.
Boosts up the immune system.
Helps with the digestive system, by breaking down the proteins and supporting production of digestive enzymes.
Papaya can be use also externally as a treatment for skin wounds like burns, for this you can use papaya peel or ointments made out of papaya.
Prevents the cataract formation.
Due to high vitamin A, it promotes lung health.
Helps alleviates inflammation.
Helps with the nausea and constipation.
Can benefit people suffering colon cancer and other forms of cancers and aliments of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems.

Can be used as a natural meat tenderizer.

The seed can be eaten, they have a peppery taste to them.  It can be added to salad dressings.

Mix diced papaya , cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and ginger to make a tropical salsa that goes great with shrimp, scallops, and halibut.