Fruits that help keep your Heart Healthy
December 13, 2016
BOOST YOUR HEART HEALTH WITH DAILY FRESH FRUITS
We are constantly reminded to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, but we are not always told why. As it turns out, one of the major benefits that come with eating lots of fruit is a much healthier heart. Read on to find out which fruits have the most powerful abilities to help your heart, and discover how these different fruits might boost your heart health.
1) Bananas:
Just one banana can give your body 13% of your recommended daily intake of potassium. Potassium is crucial for a healthy heart in two ways. Firstly, it helps to regulate your heart rhythm by keeping it beating at an appropriate speed and in the correct rhythm. Secondly, it helps your body to maintain the right balance of fluids, which in turn helps to keep your blood pressure appropriately low.
2) Blueberries:
Research conducted on mice has revealed that regularly eating blueberries helps to keep blood pressure low, which contributes to having a healthy heart and blood vessels. Blueberries also contain at least one chemical that help lower LDL (bad cholesterol) just as effectively as statin drugs. Too much bad cholesterol leads to an elevated risk of heart and artery disease. Unlike statins, blueberries have no adverse effects.
3) Lemons and Limes
The vitamin C in lemons and limes can help to protect the body from free radicals that increase the build-up of cholesterol in your arteries. As a result, eating plenty of lemons makes you less likely to suffer from heart disease, and may also slow the progression of heart disease in those who are already sufferers.
4) Cherries
Recent studies have shown that eating cherries can also help reduce LDL levels. Men with high cholesterol levels had much lower levels of LDL after a month of eating cherries along with some other food supplements. In addition, their levels of good cholesterol had increased. This study also involved a group of subjects who took placebos, and at the end of the study the good and bad cholesterol levels in these people remained unchanged.
5) Cranberries
Studies conducted on pigs that are genetically predisposed to hardened arteries have shown that eating cranberries every day helps them to develop more flexible, healthy blood vessels. The condition of your arteries is highly relevant to your likelihood of having a stroke, as those with narrow and hard arteries are in greater danger. Cranberries are also in the group of fruits that can help to reduce your bad cholesterol levels, making them the ideal fruits to snack on. In addition, some believe that the high levels of antioxidants that can be found in cranberries means that they can help to reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure.
6) Papayas
Papayas are a particularly good source of antioxidants, and these help to reduce the oxidization of bad cholesterol, thereby preventing this dangerous cholesterol from lining the blood vessels and causing a heart attack or stroke. In addition, fresh papayas contain around 257 mg of potassium per each 100g, which helps to regulate the heart rate and keep blood pressure levels healthy.
As the above information suggests, increasing your daily fruit intake is highly likely to keep your heart healthy. Other fruit such as grapes, mangoes and pineapples also contain potassium and magnesium which benefit the heart. Fruit consumption can help your body in hundreds of important and fascinating ways, influencing everything from how well your mind ages to how likely you are to develop certain kind of cancer.
