Foods for a Healthy Heart

Keeping up a healthy heart is harder than it seems. With all the heart hazards out there, especially in the foods that are available, it's no wonder that heart disease runs rampant. Take a close look at your diet and the foods you consume on a regular basis. Then ask yourself if it all adds up to a heart-healthy diet. If it doesn't, or if you're not sure, learn about these foods that will help you build a healthy heart.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are full of vitamins and lycopene, which helps to reduce the risk of heart disease. You can add fresh tomatoes to sandwiches and salads, or eat canned tomatoes and tomato sauce from the store, which actually contain higher concentrations of lycopene.

Fish

All fish have high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. These help to lower cholesterol, prevent inflammation of the heart and arteries and prevent blood clots, all of which lead to a healthy heart.

Apples

These fruits are full of vitamins, fiber and a photochemical called quercetin. This works as an antiinflammatory for the circulatory system, and also helps to prevent blood clots, allowing blood to get pumped through the heart freely and easily.

Olive Oil

Try cooking more with olive oil, because it helps to prevent heart disease. It does this by lowering the level of LDL cholesterol, which is the bad kind, in the body.

Red Wine

Drinking 4 to 8 ounces of red wine in a day helps to lead to a healthy heart. This is because of the potent antioxidant, resveratrol, found in red wines.