7 Ways to Eat and Drink Your Way to a Healthy Heart

Most everybody knows what kinds of foods to avoid for a healthy heart, but few people know the foods that can actually heal your heart! Eating the right foods, and drinking the right kind of water can:

• Reduce bad cholesterol levels

• Increase good cholesterol levels

• Reduce blood pressure

• Prevent a heart attack or stroke

4 Foods for a healthy heart

Foods that heal your heart are rich in beneficial Omega fatty acids which raise your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol. This helps heal your heart by dissolving the plaque that builds up in your arteries.

Hazelnuts: Most nuts are good for your heart, but hazelnuts are especially good. You can eat them whole, ground up, or crushed, it doesn’t matter. A 2011 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating 30 grams of hazelnuts a day for 30 days can help raise good HDL cholesterol, and lower bad LDL cholesterol.

Did you know? Nuts proven to extend your life! A recently published study in The New England Journal of Medicine performed jointly by researchers from Harvard and Stanford shows that people who eat a handful of nuts every day had a 20% lower risk of dying from several illnesses compared to people who never eat nuts. If you like eating nuts, the news is even better, the more you eat the greater the benefit for your health.

Tip: Assorted nuts makes a great snack if you get the munchies – without the guilt of snacking!

Garlic: Along with providing protection from vampires, garlic has been shown to lower bad LDL cholesterol levels and reduce blood pressure. Garlic thins the blood so it can help reduce your chances of developing blood clots that can lead to strokes and thrombosis.

Flax Seed: Grind them up or crush them, and add flax seeds to your morning smoothie for an extra boost of omega-3 fatty acid and alpha-linolenic acid. Both are well recognized for helping to counter cardiovascular disease.

Beans: Eating beans are good for your health, a study in the Archives of Internal Health states that just 4 servings of beans in your diet per week can cut your risk of heart attack by up to 22%. Kidney beans in particular are a great source of omega-3’s.

3 Heart Healthy Drinks

Tea: provides potent antioxidants called flavonoids, which may help protect your heart from the oxidative damage that contributes to clogged arteries. Green tea has highest the highest levels of EGCG – the most potent of the flavonoid antioxidants.

Coffee: drank in moderation – contains antioxidants that inhibit inflammation and reduce the risk of heart disease. Some studies have suggested that coffee has more antioxidants than tea! A long term study on more than 83,000 women revealed that women who drank 2 cups of coffee per day had a 20 percent lower risk of stroke.

Life Ionizers:
A Trusted Source of Antioxidant, mineral-rich Alkaline Water

Tip: If you have a sensitive stomach: Make your coffee or tea using alkaline water, it reduces the acidity of both beverages which makes it easier on your stomach.

Alkaline Mineral Water: Water is the best source of mineral nutrition, your body absorbs calcium and magnesium 30% faster and easier from water than it does from food. Alkaline mineral water gets it’s alkalinity from alkaline minerals, which is why alkaline water is the best water for your heart. Many people don’t get enough minerals in their diet, and even if they do, their bodies may not absorb them. Research has shown that drinking alkaline water improves calcium levels, even in people who get enough calcium in their diet! Magnesium deficiency is a major factor in heart disease. The largest ever study on the effects of drinking water on the heart – called: Hard water and the heart, the story revisited states: “The more alkaline the water, the greater the protective effect on the arteries.”

Did you know? The World Health Organization recommends you get 10 – 20% of your daily needs for minerals by drinking water.

Alkalinity a major factor in heart health

Alkaline diets such as The Mediterranean diet have been shown to combat the oxidative damage associated with heart disease. Research has made it clear that if you want better health overall, changing your diet to make it more alkaline is a wise choice. Eat more alkaline foods, and drink alkaline water. Use alkaline water to prepare your foods with since it will make them more alkaline. A home water ionizer is an investment in health for anybody that wants to eat a more alkaline diet. Bottled alkaline water is prohibitively expensive (about $5 a gallon) compared to the cost of alkaline water from a water ionizer, which is about 2 – 3 cents per gallon.

Yes! We can put a water ionizer in your home for less than you’d pay for a month’s supply of bottled alkaline water. Call us today at 877-959-7977, it’s your health, you’re worth it.

References

Wynn, E, MA Krieg, JM Aeschlimann, and P Burckhardt. “Alkaline mineral water lowers bone resorption even in calcium sufficiency: alkaline mineral water and bone metabolism.” Bone. Elsevier, 27 Oct 2008. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://www.thebonejournal.com/article/S8756-3282(08)00781-3/abstract>.

Rylander, Ragnar, and Maurice Arnaud. “Mineral water intake reduces blood pressure among subjects with low urinary magnesium and calcium levels.” BMC Public Health. BMC Public Health, 30 Nov 2004. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/4/56>.

Abraham, Guy, and Jorge Flebas. “The effect of daily consumption of 2 liters of electrolyzed water for 2 months on body composition and several physiological parameters in four obese subjects: a preliminary report.” Highbeam Research. Original Internist, 01 Sep 2011. Web. 2 Jul 2013. <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-269433201.html>.

Misner, B. Food Alone May Not Provide Sufficient Micronutrients for Preventing Deficiency J International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2006; 3(1:( 51–55.  Published online 2006 June 5 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129155/

World Health Organization, . “Nutrients in Drinking Water .” WHO | Nutrients in drinking water. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013 <http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientsbegin.pdf>.

Gumashta, J, R Gumashta, and et al. “Hard water and heart: the story revisited.” IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences. IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/vol1-issue1/B0110720.pdf>.

Elkind, Mitchell, Bernadette Albaba, Ralph Sacco, and et al. Northern Manhattan Study. Columbia University | Division of Stroke and Critical Care, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://columbianomas.org/study.html>.

Suzuki,, M, B Willcox,, and et al. “Okinawa Centenarian Study.” Okinawa Centenarian Study. Okinawa Centenarian Study. Web. 19 Sep 2013. <http://www.okicent.org/study.html>.