First: Break up with soda
An astounding 180,000 people die each year, worldwide, due to the consumption of sugary drinks, and about 45,000 of those deaths are from heart attacks. Heart disease might set in because people who drink many soft drinks tend to gain weight, become diabetic, and suffer premature heart blockages. Soft drinks also elevate blood sugars, which coat proteins and fats, rendering them into a harmful form that damages your arteries. Harvard researchers, who have been studying more than 40,000 physicians and 88,000 nurses for more than two decades, found that women who consumed more that two servings of a sugary beverage a day were 40 percent more likely to develop heart disease than women who drank fewer. Men who drank the most sodas were 20 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who drank the least.
Power Rx: Give up soda. If you drink several a day, be realistic. Start by swapping one for iced tea. Or water it down by mixing half a glass with seltzer. Over time, drink less and less soda until you get to zero.
Veggies
Nearly everything you could possibly buy in the produce section of your grocery store is true medicine to the body. Plant foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and special phytonutrients, all of which are good for the heart. Asparagus, bell peppers, and bok choy, for example, are rich sources of B vitamins, especially vitamin B6, which helps lower homocysteine (an amino acid linked to heart disease) and C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation). Carrots and tomatoes (as well as the fruits oranges and bananas are rich in carotenoids including lycopene, an important antioxidant. It�s no wonder that the Harvard Nurses� Healthy Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study found that people who ate 8 or more servings were 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke than people who consumed 1� servings or fewer.
Power Rx: Eat one more serving of fruits and vegetables than you had yesterday, and keep this up for a week. Next week, add another serving. Keep doing this until you�ve surpassed five. Ideally, keep going until you hit somewhere between eight and 12 servings.
Leafy greens
Arugula, lettuce, beets, kale, spinach, and some other veggies are all rich sources of nitrates, a form of nitrogen they absorb from the soil. During digestion, that compound is converted into an important gas: nitric oxide, which makes arteries resist contraction, plaque, and blood coagulation, so strokes and heart attacks can�t occur. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London recently found that those who consumed a nitrate-rich meal�such as a bowl of lettuce�experienced an 11.2-mmHg drop in blood pressure within just a few hours, a reduction that lasted all day long. This important improvement in blood pressure rivals the best of powerful and widely prescribed drugs.
Power Rx: Add greens to everything (soups, sandwiches, smoothies, and whatever else you can think of), or try a glass of beet juice every day.
Spices and herbs
One of the easiest ways to protect your heart is also the tastiest. Many herbs and spices are medicine for the body. They are concentrate from plants, so they contain the same protective chemicals that plants use to ward off pests and disease. When we consume these chemicals from spices, they protect the cells in our body from disease too.
The allium in garlic has been shown to improve blood cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, and lower the risk of developing heart disease. Turmeric is rich in curcumin, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar. Ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory herb that has been shown to thin the blood. The sweet spice cinnamon may improve blood flow and help normalize blood sugar.
Power Rx: Sprinkle apple pie spice (which contains cinnamon, along with cloves, allspice, and nutmeg) on fruit, oatmeal, and even your morning cup of joe. Add Italian seasoning mix onto salads, into soups, and onto potatoes and other side dishes.
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