The Best Foods for Your Heart, According to a Cardiologist
Nuts
Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts -- can you name every nut? It really doesn’t matter too much which kind you prefer, since they’re all little powerhouses of minerals, protein, and healthy fats. It turns out that they’re also pretty good at reducing cholesterol, so Dr. Martin suggests eating them whenever you can: on your cereal, with your yogurt, or as a snack on their own.
Extra-virgin olive oil
If you’ve tried the extra-virgin olive oil from Spain, Italy, or Greece, it’s hard to believe this stuff is healthy. It tastes so damn good you could guzzle it from the bottle. But alas: “It’s not like you can just drink a bunch of olive oil and [become] healthy,” Dr. Martin warns, putting the kibosh on a potential “Gallon Olive Oil Challenge.”
Olive oil has lots of unsaturated fat, which helps keep your cholesterol levels low, especially compared with butter, or worse, margarine. This is the place to get fancy: buying a nice bottle of extra-virgin olive oil is like buying a bottle of nice scotch, instantly transforming you into a mature, sophisticated adult.
Super spices: garlic, turmeric, and ginger
When a dish needs a little something, we usually reach for the salt. But there are so many different, flavorful herbs and spices you can add to your food that are way healthier. When you use a pinch of something else, the first thing you’re doing is avoiding that blood-pressure-raising cardiovascular health enemy. As a bonus, garlic, turmeric, and ginger have a variety of heart-promoting and anti-inflammatory effects.
Fish
The first good thing about eating fish is that it’s going to be the protein source in your meal -- in other word, you probably don’t have the stomach capacity to down a dozen wings with your salmon filet at every meal (or DO you?). Plus, fish, with its heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, is related to a reduced risk of dying of heart disease. And dying is bad.
Complete list (Thrillist.com)
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