Some good news: Even if you have a family history of heart disease,
your risk is not automatically high. In fact, some diet and lifestyle
changes will have a bigger impact on whether or not you have
a heart attack in the future.

So, if you’re excited about this, and want some simple solutions
on keeping your ticker in tiptop shape, just continue reading.

a) A is For Apples-
Another win for the apple. Eat an apple along with some dried fruit-
(raisins or cranberries) and reduce your risk of a heart attack by 45%.
Why this dynamic duo? Apples and dried fruit contain compounds
called polyphenols, that heal and strengthen blood vessel walls,
plus block the buildup of artery-clogging plaque.
Important tip: Yes, dried fruit can benefit your health, but remember-
they can raise the calorie count if you go overboard, so only have a Tbs.
(or two) a day.


b) Legs and Thighs-
Chicken parts to be exact and if you thought you only benefit
from chicken breasts, you’re sadly mistaken.
Chicken can stop plaque from accumulating on artery walls
and lower heart attack risk by 55%. Dark meat is loaded with
vitamin K-2, a nutrient that crowds out calcium and cholesterol
before they can become plaque.
Eat chicken 2 to 3 times a week to bolster heart health, and also
get vitamin K-2 from other foods like beef or chicken liver and
eggs.

c) The Winter Beverage-
Also known as hot cocoa. Replace a cup of tea or coffee
with a hot cup of cocoa each day and lower heart attack risk
by 44%. Hot cocoa raises your good cholesterol (HDL) and
sweeps fat from your arteries.

d) An Avocado a Day-
Or 1/2 an avocado a day raises the “good” cholesterol and
slashes heart attack risk in half. Avocados also helps reduce
your liver’s production of 2 artery-clogging fats- (bad cholesterol
and triglycerides).
Another benefit: avocados help tame appetite, resulting in
weight loss, which also improves the health of your heart.

e) Good Fats-
You just read about the benefits of avocados, well you should also
eat other fats like nuts, olives, coconuts and flaxseeds.
More “good” fats in your diet help the liver flush out inflammatory
hormones before they can damage and stiffen the arteries.

f) Beans Please-
A lot of people who’ve adopted a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle
know all about the benefits of beans, but if you rarely eat them,
you may want to change that and eat a bowl 2 or 3 times a week.
Eating more beans lowers your risk of a heart attack by 23%.
Beans contain potassium, magnesium and molybdenum,
a trio of nutrients that help muscles burn blood sugar and that
helps prevent the high blood sugar that speeds artery aging.

g) Soup or Sauce-
If you’re a fan of tomato soup with onions, or pasta sauce with
some onions, continue to indulge, doing so lowers your risk of heart
disease by 50%. The sulfur compounds that make onions eye-watering,
along with the pigment (lycopene) that makes tomatoes red, help
relax arteries, so pressure stays low and blood flows easily to your heart.

h) Hot, Hot and Hotter-
If you’re a fan of hot and spicy foods, please continue to eat them.
Add hot peppers or spices (cayenne or chili powder) to soups,
salads, stews, egg and meat dishes and stir-fries and you avoid
a host of health problems, heart disease being one of them.
Capsaicin, the “fire” in hot peppers–helps break down dietary
fats before they turn into artery-clogging “bad” cholesterol.

i) A Non-Food Tip-
If walking is your way of staying fit, continue this practice,
but if you want to lower your risk of heart attacks, walk faster.
That’s right- If you normally walk for 30 to 40 minutes, try and
get those walks done in 25 or 35 mins.
Doctors say that people who walk faster have stronger hearts,
lower blood pressure and way less plaque in their arteries.
Another tip: If walking is too taxing, you may want to take up
yoga. Doctors say yoga is also effective at lowering heart attack risk.
They (the doctors) say yoga reduces stress and lowered stress levels,
means a healthier heart.
If you need help finding info on yoga, go online to youtube.com, and
type beginner’s yoga in the search bar.

j) Recipes and more tips:
Want 2 great recipes using some of foods mentioned above,
that also lower heart attack risk? Head to our second site-
and find them there. You’ll also receive 2 more non-food
tips on how to prevent heart disease.
Our second site- go to Etsy.com and type grocerymatrxs
in the search bar and download the digital file called
2 tasty recipes for a youthful heart!

Sources:
* David Katz, M.D.
* University of California, Riverside
* Brigham and Women’s Hospital
* Journal of Alternative Medicine