10 Heart-Healthy Vegetables To Start Eating Healthier Today

10 Heart-Healthy Vegetables To Start Eating Healthier Today

The more vegetables you eat, the lower your risk of heart disease is. So add these heart-healthy vegetables to your meals to protect your heart.

Heart disease is one of the most popular reasons leading to the death of human beings, especially among Americans.

American Heart Association reported that over 80 million American adults have at least one type of heart illness. (1)

To get rid of heart-related diseases, you should consume a healthy diet. In particular, the vegetable is a great food that keeps you away from heart illnesses.

Vegetables are rich in fiber, minerals, vitamins, and many other essential nutrients for your heart health.

Eating vegetables in daily meals can help reduce the risk of heart diseases like heart attacks, strokes, and many other dangerous conditions.

Top Heart-Healthy Vegetables

Here are 10 best heart-healthy vegetables that will “reboot your engine”:

1. Broccoli, Kale, Spinach And Brussels Sprouts

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Broccoli, Kale, Spinach

Leafy greens are known as one of the best heart-healthy vegetables. They contain a great number of minerals and vitamins.

Leafy greens are also very rich in fiber and carotenoids – powerful antioxidants that help you get rid of potentially harmful properties.

In each cup of broccoli, there are 5 grams of polyphenols, fiber, essential vitamins as well as critical minerals like folate.

Polyphenols in broccoli play an essential part in combating cancers and degenerated illnesses.

Broccoli is also rich in vitamin C, which lowers the risk of both fatal and non-fatal heart diseases.

Kale is said to be a superfood that contains a high amount of vitamin C, even more than an orange. It also includes some healthy omega-3 fatty acids, a lot of vitamin A and fiber.

Like kale, Brussels sprouts are nutrient-dense vegetables that provide you with a large amount of fiber, folic acid, calcium, vitamin A, C, and K.

Spinach is rich in iron, potassium, calcium, vitamins A, B and C, and folate. It’s very easy to grow and fast to harvest. It just takes 40 days to harvest spinach if you grow it in your own garden. Go, let’s grow some and add it to your dinner to boost your heart health.

2. Potatoes

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Potatoes

Potatoes that are not fried deeply can be one of the top heart-healthy vegetables.

It contains a high amount of potassium, which helps keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.

Moreover, the fiber in this vegetable can help reduce the risk of many heart diseases like stock or congestive heart failure. So, it’s not bad food as people often think.

In contrast, it has various benefits for people’s heart health; especially, helps your heart operate normally.

3. Blueberries, Blackberries, And Raspberries

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Blueberries, Blackberries And Raspberries

Almost all berries contain a high amount of antioxidants, especially blueberries. It improves cognitive function and lowers the risk of heart diseases.

According to a study conducted in women at the ages of 25 to 42 in 2013, people who consume more than 3 portions of strawberries and blueberries per week have 32 percent lower risk of heartbreak than the ones who eat less. (2)

Moreover, blackberries are rich in fiber and polyphenol, also contained in green tea, which can help prevent heart illnesses and many forms of cancer.

With 8 grams of fiber per cup, raspberries are the most fiber-dense fruits among berry family. They are also rich in manganese and vitamin C.

4. Tomatoes

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Tomatoes

Like potatoes, tomatoes also contain a great amount of potassium, which is essential for a healthy heart.

Especially, they are very rich in lycopene, a great anti-inflammation and antioxidant component, which helps you get rid of coronary heart illness and unhealthy cholesterol, open the blood vessels as well as reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Tomatoes also contain a lot of fiber and vitamin C but very little sugar. Therefore, tomatoes are great healthy vegetables for your heart.

Add these vegetables to your dinner due to their various benefits to not only your heart but also your whole body health.

5. Carrots

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Carrots

Carotenoids in carrot are powerful antioxidants which help prevent heart disease related to free radicals. These properties are also good for your eye health.

These vegetables are also rich in minerals like niacin, thiamin, potassium, manganese, folate, and some essential vitamins like A, C, B6, and K.

When carrots grow about 0.75 inches above the ground, they are ready for your dinner!

6. Garlic And Onions

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Garlic And Onions

Garlic is a great ingredient that can help you get rid of cancer. It can improve the conditions of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart-related illness and some certain forms of cancer.

Furthermore, phytochemicals in this vegetable help strengthen the immunity, keep your heart healthy and prevent heart illnesses.

Besides garlic, onions can also help control the cholesterol level thanks to the sulfur-containing phytochemicals in the components.

So, eating onions in the daily meal can help reduce the risk of heart illness, keep your heart healthy and strong.

7. Legumes

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Peas, Beans and Lentils

As legumes, including peas, beans, and lentils, come from plants, they can provide you with a great amount of healthy protein without a high number of harmful fat.

According to a study, people who consume legumes at least four times per week are 22 percent lower at risk of heart disease than the ones who eat less than once weekly. (3)

These vegetables also help control blood sugar levels in diabetes patients.

Keeping the sugar levels in the blood at a proper level will actually help people get rid of diabetes complications, and therefore, prevent heart disease.

8. Swiss Chard And Beets

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Swiss Chard And Beets

Dark leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard, salad greens, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens, and collard greens, are really heart-healthy vegetables.

Especially, Swiss chard is rich in some essential minerals like magnesium and potassium, which are beneficial for your heart.

Each cup of Swiss chard can provide you 25 percent of the required potassium for your body per day.

Another potassium-dense vegetable that you should eat for a healthy heart is beet. Like Swiss chard, beets are rich in many healthy minerals like magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium, and iron.

Moreover, these vegetables give you many types of vitamins like A, C, and B6.

If you grow beets yourself, you should harvest them when they are small, about 1 – 2 inches across as they would be tender and sweet at this size. If you harvest when they grow bigger, it may taste less flavorful and seem to be woody.

9. Bell Peppers

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Bell Peppers

Like Swiss chard and beets, red bell peppers are rich in potassium, vitamins A, C, B6, and riboflavin.

Surprisingly, each cup of red bell peppers contains up to 317 percent of the suggested amount of vitamin C and 93 percent of the suggested allowance of vitamin A you should obtain per day.

Moreover, bell peppers are folate-dense vegetables, so they can help lower homocysteine.

Add bell peppers to your daily meals as these heart-healthy vegetables bring a lot of benefits.

10. Asparagus

Heart Healthy Vegetables - Asparagus

Another great vegetable for boosting heart health is asparagus.

It is rich in vitamin B6 which is a vital nutrient for a healthy heart. Vitamin B6 in asparagus can reduce homocysteine – a form of amino acid – which can lead to heart disease.

Add this vegetable to your diet to have a healthy heart and get rid of serious heart disease.

More Tips To Keep Your Heart Healthy

This article has given you the top 10 heart-healthy vegetables.

With great amounts of essential nutrients such as fiber, minerals like potassium, zinc, magnesium, folates, as well as many vitamins like A, C, K, B6, these vegetables will help you get rid of many types of heart-related diseases like stroke or heart attack, and give you a healthy heart and happy life.

There are many other foods besides the above 10 heart-healthy vegetables that can boost your heart health, such as:

  • oatmeal,
  • dark chocolate,
  • citrus fruits,
  • nuts,
  • green tea,
  • avocado,
  • cilantro,
  • rosemary,
  • flax seeds,
  • red wine,
  • soy.

You should have a healthy diet, especially include more heart-healthy vegetables for your meal, have a healthy lifestyle to protect your heart from illness, and have a strong heart to enjoy life.

All contents provided are for informational and educational purposes. We recommend you consult a healthcare professional to determine which method is appropriate for you.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments