February is Heart Health Month!

What better time than to highlight ways to support a healthy heart through your diet. Plant-based diets like the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH diet help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and lowers cholesterol. The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes cooking, eating meals with friends and family, and regular physical activity. It also includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, seafood, olive oil, nuts, seeds, eggs, fermented dairy (like yogurt), and some chicken and turkey.

One of the important aspects of the Mediterranean Diet is that it features olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds, and fish, which are all good sources of heart healthy unsaturated fats. The Mediterranean Diet features naturally lower fat cheeses like feta and parmesan, which are lower in calories and saturated fat. Yogurt is consumed daily and is a great source of gut-healthy probiotics as well as calcium and vitamin D. Eggs, poultry, fish, and sweets are consumed weekly. Red meat is consumed a few times per month and in very small amounts.

Fun Facts About Your Heart
– Your heart beats about 115,000 times each day
– Your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day
– The heart works twice as hard as the leg muscles of a sprinter

Food Groups for Your Heart
Whole grains: packed with fiber which helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels. To reduce the risk of heart disease, make ½ the grains you eat whole grains.
Protein: Lean meats, plant proteins, and seafood are lower in saturated fat. Some examples include chicken, turkey, quinoa, edamame, nuts, salmon, shrimp, and trout.
Heart Healthy Fats: Including foods with unsaturated fats like avocado, fish, nuts, and olive oils, can improve cholesterol levels and ease inflammation.
Fruits and Veggies: Leafy greens and fruit are packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which help to protect against inflammation, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease.