Eat Your Veggies and More Heart Healthy Tips From the Nutrition Twins

 

By Tammy Lakatos Shames and Elysse Lakatos, The Nutrition Twins, Special to Everyday HealthIf the thought of getting heart disease puts you a little on edge and gets your heart beating a little faster, we understand. After all, heart disease is the No.1 killer in the United States — and that’s enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure.But there’s great news — eating the right veggies may improve heart health by lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure and decreasing inflammation in the arteries. And more good news — by focusing on the foods that you should eat more of, you’ll automatically eat less of the bad stuff that could lead to heart disease, like butter, processed meats, fatty red meats, and baked goods that contain artery-clogging hydrogenated oils.A heart-healthy diet includes at least 2.5 cups of cooked veggies each day or 5 cups of raw, leafy veggies. Although this may sound like a lot, the key is to mix your veggies right into your meal so you’ll eat less of the heavy stuff without even realizing that you’re filling your stomach with heart-protective veggies and meeting your daily quota to boot. Our clients eat this way and find they easily eat more than the minimum veggie recommendations. Eat this way too and you’ll get plenty of protective nutrients.

Heart-Protective Nutrients

Potassium counterbalances sodium and the damage it causes by helping to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Potassium also helps to flush sodium out of the body and keep your blood vessels more elastic and pliable.

• Good sources are crimini mushrooms, spinach and swiss chard. These veggies are all great in omelets, sandwiches and soups.
• Try this Super Easy Spinach Pomodoro. Defrost a box of frozen spinach, mix in 3/4 cup of marinara sauce and a few teaspoons of grated parmesan cheese — and voila!

Phytonutrients protect the heart, keep inflammation at bay, repair damaged cells, help build our immune systems, and act as antioxidants. Of course, this means they help protect the cardiovascular system, so we certainly heart our phytonutrients.

• Most veggies are a good source. Variety is the key since each veggie contains different phytonutrients that can tackle different types of damage in our bodies. As healthy as broccoli is, don’t eat it only because you’re used to it. Get out there and experiment — add purple cabbage to add dimension to your salad, bell peppers to sweeten your panini and snow peas to add crunch to your tuna sandwich.

B Vitamins help lower homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood that may promote fatty deposits in blood cells.

• Leafy greens are high in vitamin B. Aim to eat them daily. If you’re bored with the same mixed green salad, switch things up by choosing romaine lettuce, Boston red leaf, spinach leaves or arugula.
• Trying to cut calories? Replace the bread on your sandwich or wrap (or even half of the bread) with several large leaves of your fave leafy greens. Lettuce wraps are delicious on tuna and egg salad.

Fiber lowers cholesterol levels. Although soluble fiber is more effective at lowering cholesterol (it pulls the bad cholesterol right out of your body!), both soluble fiber and insoluble fiber are good for your health, and most vegetables contain some of each.

• Good sources are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, celery, carrots, cucumbers, beans, dry peas, artichokes, parsnips, sweet potatoes and turnips.
• Added bonus: Double your fiber intake and you’ll actually absorb 90-130 fewer calories each day—that translates into an 8-10 pound weight loss over the next year!

And of Course, Garlic, which can lower triglycerides and total cholesterol by as much as 5 - 15 percent. But garlic’s biggest asset is its unique set of sulfur-containing compounds that protect blood cells and blood vessels from inflammatory and oxidative stress.

• Tip: After chopping or crushing garlic, allow it to sit for 5 minutes before cooking it to so its phytonutrient alliin can convert to the health and heart superstar allicin.  Roast garlic with veggies or in a little olive oil and spread it on your bread in lieu of butter.

Tammy Lakatos Shames and Elysse Lakatos, The Nutrition Twins, are nationally recognized registered dietitians and personal trainers with 15 years experience helping clients boost their energy naturally, get healthier, happier and into tip-top shape. Their latest book, The Nutrition Twins’ Veggie Cure, was released in January 2014.