How to Help Support Heart Health with Nutrition

The Importance of Heart Health

Take care of your heart, and it’ll benefit the other parts of your body, too. That’s because the heart is, well, the heart of overall good health!

The heart is a muscle that pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout the body through a system of blood vessels that resemble a city street map. Remember, that muscle is working all…the…time! Keeping that muscle strong is key to making sure blood is moving smoothly.

A healthy heart is influenced by your diet, exercise and other lifestyle habits. If those blood vessel “streets” start to start to narrow (e.g. with build up of cholesterol), your heart will have to work extra hard to deliver fuel to your muscles and cells.

How to Help Support Heart Health

An overall healthy diet is one way to help keep your heart going strong. A good, balanced diet should have plenty of fruits and vegetables, plus whole grains, healthy fats, dairy and lean protein. These foods provide a variety of nutrients to help support heart health and may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Key nutrients to focus on that support heart health include:

• Unsaturated fats, including omega-3 fats. You need some fats in your diet, and unsaturated fats are considered a more heart-healthy option than saturated fats. They also help lower the fats that you might find on a lipid panel test from your doctor’s office: cholesterol and triglycerides. Oils, avocados, nuts, seeds and the fatty fish are great sources of unsaturated fats.
• Fiber. Abundant in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and beans, fiber helps lower cholesterol and is important for heart health. After age 50, women should aim for 21 grams of fiber per day, and men should shoot for 30 grams daily.
• Thiamin. Also known as vitamin B1, thiamin is important for normal heart function. Up to 20-30% of older adults have some degree of thiamin deficiency. Most meats, fish and grain foods have thiamin or have been fortified with the nutrient.
• Magnesium. This mineral is important for maintaining muscle function, including heart muscle, and keeping the heart pumping at a normal rhythm. Look to leafy greens, beans, nuts and fortified foods for magnesium.
• Potassium. Think of potassium as the opposite of sodium. Too much sodium in the diet can lead to high blood pressure whereas potassium plays a role in blood pressure regulation. Dairy, fruits, vegetables, beans and meat all contain potassium.  

Physical Activity Fuels the Heart, Too!

Eating well isn’t the only way to improve heart health. Getting the heart pumping and blood flowing by being physically active goes hand-in-hand with healthy eating. Aim for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity, like walking, gardening or doing housework, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous activity – things like running, swimming laps or biking. A combination of vigorous and moderate also works.

And remember, there are many ways to stay active and healthy in cold weather. Your heart can’t take a break from pumping, so you shouldn’t take any breaks from caring for it!