3 Nutrients That Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

Heart disease has many contributing factors that can increase your risk of developing this dangerous condition, such as smoking, unhealthy body weight, intake of harmful foods and ingredients, lack of exercise and imbalance of the essential nutrients needed for your body to maintain a healthy state.

To promote a healthy heart, our Nutritionist at Family Chiropractic Care suggests that you ensure your diet includes these 3 nutrients that lower your risk of heart disease:

1. Fiber: Fiber has been shown to lower cholesterol, support a healthy body weight and promote the optimal functioning of the gastrointestinal system in order to expel waste and toxins from the body. To increase your intake of fiber, you should eat a variety of beans (white, garbanzo, black and red beans), nuts (almonds, walnuts, and pecans), brown rice, edamame, and foods that list whole grains as its first ingredient (whole grain breads, cereals, pastas, and oatmeal).
2. Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3s reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attack by inhibiting plaque build-up and arterial damage. A great source of these fatty acids are certain kinds of fish, such as sardines, wild salmon, albacore tuna, mussels, and rainbow trout. Other excellent sources of Omega-3 include avocados, flaxseeds, chia seeds, olives and olive oil and products infused with these fatty acids.
3. Antioxidants: High levels of antioxidants, which are chemicals that decrease cell damage, have been proven to lower the risk of heart disease and can be found in black tea, dark chocolate, tomatoes, blueberries, oranges, kale and spinach.

Other Ways to Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

• Engage in 20 minutes of exercise everyday
• Quit smoking
• Know your cholesterol numbers
• Educate yourself on the warning signs of heart disease and heart attacks
• Have an annual check-up
• Avoid foods high in saturated and trans fats, salt, refined sugars and preservatives
• Eat a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, low fat proteins and whole grains

Chiropractic Care in Longview, WA

The experts of Family Chiropractic Care guide clients to a healthier way of living to avoid disease, illness, injury and stress. If you would like to live a more fulfilling lifestyle, we offer a nutritional assessment so that we can create a personalized treatment plan that will support you in your goal of achieving a happier, healthier you. Contact the Family Chiropractic team by calling 360-636-2636 today to discover the many services we offer for improving your health!