Top Foods and Nutrients for Heart Health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but it’s a chronic condition that is often preventable by making healthy choices

throughout your lifetime -- including and especially regarding the foods you eat and the nutrients you get on a daily basis.

In fact, eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways to keep your heart in tip-top physical condition … but you may be wondering what a “healthy diet” actually entails.

Most people know that they should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables while cutting back on unhealthy fats, like trans fats. This is a good start, and your diet should include a wide array of fresh, unprocessed foods at its core, but if you’re looking for more specifics, check out the list below.

The foods and nutrients that follow are ideal for keeping your heart healthy, especially when combined with other heart-healthy habits like regular exercise, not smoking and not drinking too much alcohol.

8 Top Foods and Nutrients for a Healthy Heart

1. Fish Oil
Fish oil is a rich source of the omega-3 fats eicopentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA support your heart by helping to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Omega-3 fatty acids also provide protection and maintenance of the healthy function of your body's cell.
You can get omega-3 fats from eating fish, but many types (especially larger, predatory fish) may contain high levels of mercury, PCBs, dioxins and other contaminants. If you are limiting your fish consumption due to contamination concerns, high-quality fish oil supplements are a safe alternative. Look for those that are ultra pure and independently tested for rancidity, mercury, PCBs, and EPA and DHA levels.
2. Olive Oil
Olive oil contains healthy monounsaturated fats, which have long been praised for their health benefits, including the ability to lower your bad cholesterol and risk of heart disease.
For instance, a new study from the Cancer Research and Prevention Institute in Florence found that women who ate at least three tablespoons of olive oil a day were 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease during the eight-year study period than women who ate the least.1
Olive oil is also a rich source of antioxidant polyphenols, which are beneficial for heart health. When choosing olive oil, “extra virgin” or “virgin” varieties are the least processed and may be better for your health.
Virgin and extra-virgin olive oil contain more phenolics, which act as antioxidants and also have anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties, than more heavily processed oils.
One study even found that people’s blood vessels were healthier after eating a meal rich in high-phenolic olive oil (including dilating better to improve blood flow) than they were after eating low-phenolic olive oil, again suggesting virgin or extra-virgin varieties may be best for your health.2

3. CoQ10 Supplement
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a necessary component of every cell; the CoQ10 enzyme helps cells produce the energy they need to fuel your body. However, CoQ10 is not only known to support healthy energy levels, but also your cardiovascular system. Research suggests that CoQ10 is especially helpful for your heart health, and your heart contains some of the highest amounts of CoQ10 in your body.
It also functions as an antioxidant, helping to protect against oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
Your body naturally produces CoQ10, but tissue levels peak at age 20 and decline with age, particularly in your heart.
Due to increased awareness that many prescription drugs (such as statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, high-blood pressure drugs and antidepressants) may deplete the level of CoQ10 in your body, more people are turning to CoQ10 supplements to help maintain their heart health.
Meat and fish are dietary sources of CoQ10, but the amounts found in food are far less than what can be obtained from supplements.

4. Avocado
Another source of healthy monounsaturated fats, including oleic acid (the same type found in olive oil), avocados are a tasty addition to your heart-healthy diet.
Along with monounsaturated fats, they also contain beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol shown to reduce total and bad (LDL) cholesterol in 16 human studies.3 Researchers have also shown that people who ate an avocado every day for a week reduced their cholesterol by an average of 17 percent, with bad cholesterol levels and triglycerides, which are associated with heart disease, declining and good (HDL) cholesterol levels rising.4 Avocados also contain an array of phytonutrients, such as carotenoids, that may support heart health. According to the California Avocado Commission, the highest concentration of carotenoids is in the dark green part of the fruit closest to the peel.5 To make sure you’re getting this most beneficial section, nick the skin and peel it from the avocado, as opposed to scooping it out with a spoon.
Avocado is also a natural source of L-carnitine (see below).

5. L-Carnitine
L-carnitine is an amino acid derivative found in almost all of your body's cells. It’s essential for breaking down fats into energy, while also supporting your heart and healthy cholesterol levels.

In fact, your skeletal muscles, heart and other tissues all depend on L-carnitine to function properly.

L-carnitine is found in avocado and fermented soy foods like tempeh, as well as in animal products. However, animal products contain only small amounts of L-carnitine, making it difficult to get enough from diet alone. For this reason, a supplement can be taken to help support your cardiovascular health.

6. Garlic
If you love garlic you’re in luck, as this potent plant is excellent for your heart. Allicin, garlic’s active ingredient, produces hydrogen sulfide, a gas with many heart-protective qualities.
Specifically, research has shown that allicin may signal blood vessels to relax, increase blood flow and boost heart health, and as researchers noted in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “The consumption of garlic is inversely correlated with the progression of cardiovascular disease.”6

To get the most benefits, however, garlic should be freshly crushed, not dried, processed or cooked. A recent study on rats from researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine revealed that freshly crushed garlic helped rats’ hearts recover from a heart attack better than dried garlic.

While both reduced damage from lack of oxygen, the fresh garlic was better at restoring blood flow and protecting the heart from damage, most likely due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide, which is not present in dried, processed or cooked garlic.7

7. Grapefruit
A grapefruit a day may be enough to keep the heart doctor away, especially if it’s red grapefruit. Rich in polyphenols and antioxidants like vitamin C, both white and red grapefruits have been found to help lower cholesterol levels, including LDL cholesterol. However, red grapefruits have also been found to lower triglyceride levels, a type of fat in your blood that’s linked to hardening of the arteries, heart attack and heart disease.8
Grapefruit also contains pectin, a type of fiber that has been shown to protect against high cholesterol and hardening of the arteries in animal studies.9

8. Green Leafy Vegetables
Eating just about any vegetable is a wise choice for your heart, but green leafy vegetables like spinach, Swiss chard and romaine lettuce are a step above the rest. For instance, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that eating eight or more servings of fruits and vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, a day resulted in a more than 20 percent reduced risk of coronary heart disease compared to eating less than three.10
The antioxidants in green leafy vegetables also help protect heart rate flexibility, helping to reduce your risk of heart disease.11 This is important as decreased flexibility in heart rate, such as can occur during exposure to air pollution, can trigger heart problems. Researchers concluded that higher intake of green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Remember, heart disease is often preventable through a healthy diet and exercise. Eating a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods -- with a focus on fresh, unprocessed vegetables, fruits and lean proteins -- can lower your risk of heart disease and its associated risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and excess weight. Taking appropriate high-quality supplements may also help to further support your heart health.

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Original Article:  https://www.cncahealth.com/explore/learn/nutrition-food/heart-health-top-8-foods-and-nutrients

Sources:1. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2010 Dec 22.
2. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2005; 46:1864-1868.
3. The American Journal of Medicine Volume 107, Issue 6, Pages 588-594, December 1999.
4. WebMD.com “The Avocado Advantage” August 14, 2000.
5. California Avocado Commission “Heart Health: Get the Good Fat With California Avocados”.
6. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2007 Nov 13;104(46):17977-82.
7. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2009 Aug 12;57(15):7137-44.
8. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2006 Mar 8;54(5):1887-92.
9. Clinical Cardiology 1988 Sep;11(9):597-600.
10. Annals of Internal Medicine June 19, 2001 vol. 134 no. 12 1106-1114.
11. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89: 778-786, 2009.

10 Top Anti-Aging Foods and Nutrients to Keep You Young

As you age, proper nutrition is essential to maintain your quality of life and prevent numerous chronic diseases. With the proper nutrients, you can feel energized, stay fit and flexible and keep doing the activities you love to do, no matter what your age.

On the other hand, neglecting key nutrients is a slippery slope that can quickly lead to declining health. It's estimated that serious diseases linked to poor dietary choices -- such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure -- kill three out of four Americans every year!1 And at the very least, ignoring proper nutrition is virtually guaranteed to leave you feeling sluggish, depressed and, well, old.
You don't want that.

So, here are the top nutrition tips you should know to fight back against the hands of time and keep the feeling of youth on your side.

Eat This to Stay Healthy as You Age...

Fermented Foods (Probiotics)
Yogurt, kefir and traditionally made (non-pasteurized) sauerkraut are examples of fermented foods that are naturally rich in beneficial bacteria known as probiotics. Although most known for their role in keeping your digestive processes moving smoothly, beneficial bacteria are also known to help protect against malnutrition and support calcium absorption and immune health.2

People in their 60s and beyond tend to have far more disease-causing bacteria in their digestive tracts than someone decades younger, making them more prone to gastrointestinal troubles. Consuming fermented foods is a natural way to neutralize the pathogenic bacteria by encouraging the growth of the friendly bacteria.

Plus, probiotics are also known to help your body sustain healthy inflammatory balance -- another boon to help you fight the declines of aging.*

Omega-3 Fats (Fish Oil)

Omega-3 fats, found naturally in seafood and fish oil, support inflammatory balance, which is incredibly important as you get older. Plus, recent research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids help preserve DNA segments known as telomeres, whose degradation is a key marker of aging.*3

Fruits and VegetablesYou knew this one was coming … the wider variety of produce that you include in your diet, the better, as each variety has unique properties that can help keep you young. Broccoli, for instance, contains sulphoraphane, a natural anti-inflammatory phytochemical. All of the cruciferous veggies (kale, cauliflower, bok choy, etc.) contain cancer-fighting phytonutrients as well.

Tart cherries, on the other hand, contain antioxidants called anthocyanins, which may help reduce several risk factors for heart disease,4 while the anthocyanins in blueberries have also been shown to increase anti-inflammatory molecules in your body.5 There are numerous healthy attributes to virtually any fruit or vegetable you can think of … so make these a regular part of your diet.

Green Tea
Green tea is a rich source of flavonoids, which support healthy inflammatory balance and protect your body against free radicals promoting general health and longevity.*6

6 Healthy Aging Supplements to Consider...

Supplementing your healthy diet with specific anti-aging nutrients may help support your health well into your later years.

1. Resveratrol
Resveratrol is a powerful polyphenolic antioxidant found in grapes, red wine, purple grape juice and some berries, as well as in supplement form. Since 1992, research suggests that resveratrol is a powerful free radical scavenger, working by inhibiting a destructive process called lipid peroxidation, which is associated with premature aging.*

2. Vitamin B12
As you get older it becomes more difficult to absorb vitamin B12 (a vitamin necessary for proper red blood cell function, neurological function and DNA synthesis*) from food. This can lead to symptoms that are sometimes associated with aging, such as poor memory, confusion, trouble with balance, loss of appetite and more. Vitamin B12 is primarily found in animal foods, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products, as well as in supplement form.

3. CoQ10
Your body naturally produces CoQ10, an enzyme that helps cells produce the energy they need to fuel your body, but tissue levels peak at age 20 and decline with age, particularly in your heart. Further, certain common prescription drugs, including cholesterol-lowering statins, deplete CoQ10 levels in your body even more.
While CoQ10 is found in meat and fish, it's difficult to get enough from dietary sources alone. A CoQ10 supplement may be particularly helpful for your heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas, as well as to help support a healthy immune system.*

4. Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a powerful antioxidant that helps support liver, vision and nerve function.* It works against both water- and fat-soluble free radicals, and even helps to regenerate other antioxidants your body may be lacking. Alpha lipoic acid also helps to convert carbohydrates to energy at the cellular level, assisting with the regulation of blood sugar.*

5. Acetyl-L-Carnitine
Acetyl-L-Carnitine helps offset age-related declines in energy production, and is most helpful in supporting energy function in your brain, as well as energy production at the cellular level.* You may have heard of l-carnitine before, but studies suggest acetyl-l-carnitine may actually be more bioavailable. While your body can make all the carnitine it needs, age, dietary factors, stress and disease can contribute to deficiencies, making supplementation incredibly useful, especially as you get older.

6. Curcumin
The active compound in turmeric (an Indian spice often used in curry dishes), curcumin has powerful antioxidant properties and promotes healthy cellular division, particularly in your GI tract.* Curcumin also supports liver detoxification, healthy immune response and promotes joint flexibility, all of which are essential as you age.*

In addition to direct antioxidant activity, curcumin may function indirectly as an antioxidant by inhibiting the activity of inflammatory enzymes or by enhancing the synthesis of glutathione, an important intracellular antioxidant.*

Remember, too, that what you don't eat is nearly as important as what you do. Top foods that can quickly sabotage your health, and should therefore be avoided, include added sugars, refined white flour, trans fats, and too many omega-6-rich vegetable oils (soybean, corn, etc., as these are highly inflammatory).

Finally, as you get older your body needs fewer calories to function than it did when you were younger. If you want to avoid the dreaded "middle-aged" spread, make sure that the calories you do eat count by choosing primarily whole, fresh foods in lieu of heavily processed alternatives.

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Sources:
1. National Cancer Institute, Diet and Diseases
2. Postgrad Med J. 2004 Aug;80(946):447-51.
3. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, Volume 28, February 2013, Pages 16–24
4. FASEB J. April 2010 24 (Meeting Abstract Supplement) 335.1
5. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2011 Dec;36(6):976-84.
6. Journal of Inflammation 2007, 4

Original Article: https://www.cncahealth.com/explore/learn/healthy-aging/10-top-anti-aging-foods-and-nutrients-to-keep-you-young