Eat to Boost Heart Health

By Erin Pawelczyk

Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the best version of yourself. I personally can't imagine a better place to start than by focusing on your heart health. Your heart is a vital organ that pumps blood throughout your body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to every cell. If the heart is not functioning properly, the body’s organs can't get the oxygen and nutrients they need. If maintaining a strong, healthy heart is one of your “whys,” for maximizing your well-being, eat more of these foods every day!

The 2211 EAT plan goes hand-in-hand with what is recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA suggests we eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy sources of protein while minimizing your intake of added sugars.

22 Foods to Boost Heart Health

The 2211 EAT plan helps you find the optimal foods to eat in four areas: produce, protein, grains, and healthy fats – as well as your favorite and mine, love foods! Try these foods below that can boost your heart health every day, based on Eat Move Groove: Unlock the Simple Steps to Lifelong Nutrition, Fitness & Wellness.

Produce

· Apples

· Berries (including blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

· Broccoli

· Citrus fruits (including oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines)

· Dark greens (including spinach, kale, arugula, bok choy, collards, dandelion greens, Swiss chard, and fresh or frozen mustard greens)

· Okra

· Pears

· Tomatoes (including fresh, canned, sauces, and salsa)

Proteins

· Beans and peas – legumes (including peanuts, black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and lentils)

· Eggs (especially high omega-3 eggs)

· Fatty fish (especially salmon, tuna, sardines, and lake trout)

· Nuts (especially walnuts, cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and nut butters)

· Seeds (especially sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, and seed butters)

· Soy-based foods (including edamame, tofu, tempeh, miso, soy yogurt, and soy milk)

Grains

· Barley

· Brown rice

· Oats (including whole oats, oat groats, steel-cut oats, oat bran, old-fashioned oats, and quick oats)

· Quinoa

Healthy Fats

· Avocados, guacamole, and avocado oil

· Oils (especially extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), safflower oil, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, and canola oil)

Love Foods

· Dark chocolate

· Red wine

Enjoy all foods with the Eat Move Groove 2211 plan, especially these foods above that boost heart health every day! For more tips on eating, moving, and grooving to become your best self, check out Eat Move Groove: Unlock the Simple Steps to Lifelong Nutrition, Fitness & Wellness by Susie Kundrat, RDN – now available on Amazon!