5 Foods Your Heart Would Love More Of

5 Foods Your Heart Would Love More Of

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By Mayimina

Posted Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 11:08am EST

Keywords: foods for heart health, Foods Your Heart Would Love More Of, hearth health

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S.

Heart disease kills more than cancer and diabetes. One in every four Americans dies in the United States alone.

The best way to improve your odds for escaping heart disease is to improve your heart health by including these five foods in your diet:

1. Sauerkraut

Some people love the taste of sauerkraut and others despise it. But it’s worth developing a taste for this fermented cabbage dish. Just two ounces of sauerkraut gives you 400-500 mcg of Vitamin K2. Your optimal daily dosage of K2 is between 360-500 mcg. 100% of available Vitamin K2 from foods is absorbed into your system.

The benefits of K2 in your diet are verifiable. Vitamin K2 is one of the most essential vitamins your heart needs to avoid thrombosis and maintain a healthy vascular system.

To include sauerkraut in your diet, consider enjoying a Rueben Sandwich.

2. Macadamia Nuts

One ounce of raw macadamia nuts contains 21.5 grams of healthy fats for your heart.
Contrary to popular belief, your heart needs some fat in the diet to stay healthy. Since macadamia nuts are highly caloric (204 calories in one ounce), restrict your intake to two or three nuts per day.

One interesting way to enjoy macadamia nuts is to toast them and then grind them in a spice grinder. Sprinkle them into your ground coffee before brewing for a natural, healthful flavor boost.

3. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are rich in a compound called Lycopene.

In recent studies, participants with higher levels of lycopene in their system were discovered to be at much lower risk for heart disease and stroke. Remember that lycopene is fat soluble, so eating tomatoes along with healthy fat is essential to ensure the best absorption.

When choosing tomatoes to include in your diet, skip the canned variety. Cans contain BPA, a dangerous chemical related to negative hormonal changes in the body. Instead, choose organic, fresh tomatoes.

A simple way to get lycopene combined with a healthy fat is to make fresh guacamole.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado, mashed
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• ¼ white onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients by hand. Serve with crudités instead of fried tortilla chips.

4. Parsley

You’ve been looking at parsley all wrong. Stop seeing it as a garnish and start realizing its amazing health benefits for your heart.
Parsley contains myristicin, a naturally occurring essential oil that increases production of glutathione.
Glutathione is one of the most recommended supplements for protecting against heart disease. The more parsley you eat, the better your chances to escape a heart attack.

As always, fresh is far superior to the dried variety you find in the spice aisle of the supermarket.

The best way to get copious amounts of parsley into you is to include it in your green juice recipe.

Just process the fresh parsley through your masticating juicer along with kale, carrot, celery, apple and the rest of your juicing ingredients.

5. Cocoa

Cocoa contains flavonols, which are highly instrumental in promoting optimal blood flow through the arteries. Yes, chocolate is good for your heart, but not the kind you’ve been eating.

Chocolate laced with preservatives, sugar and other chemicals will outstrip any potential benefits.

You want to consume a delicate amount of chocolate each day, equivalent to ½ ounce.

Opt for organic, unsweetened chocolate, which you can find at natural food stores. They are pricey, but remember you won’t be eating a candy bar every day.

Include these five foods into your diet on a daily basis, if possible.