7 Heart Healthy Foods You Need But Shouldn't Overdo

Maintaining heart health is essential, and certain foods can benefit your cardiovascular system. While these heart-healthy foods provide crucial nutrients, it’s important not to overindulge. Balancing intake of items like avocados, nuts, and fatty fish is key to a heart-healthy diet, as excessive consumption can lead to unintended caloric excess.

Dr Prachi Bhagwat, Dietician & Nutritionist, Apollo Clinic, Aundh Pune, says, “It is very important to incorporate healthy heart foods into our meals. It’s important to include foods, like fish such as Indian salmon, which are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids that are vital for our wellbeing.” Nuts are another option as they provide fats and avocados are known for their abundance of monounsaturated fats.

“Legumes such as kidney beans, lentils, black eye peas etc. are high in minerals and fibre without saturated fat, improve your blood cholesterol. Additionally, dark chocolate, with its high antioxidant content offers some heart benefits,” adds Dr Bhgawat.

However, it’s crucial to consume these foods in moderation since they can be calorie dense. Consuming amounts could disrupt your calorie balance. Potentially lead to weight gain, which can affect your heart health negatively.

Dr Edwina Raj, Head of Services, Clinic Nutrition & Dietetics, Aster CMI Hospital shares a list of heart healthy foods you need but shouldn’t overdo:

1. Whole grainsSwap refined grains to whole grains such as unpolished rice, millets, whole wheat, oats, quinoa a source of fiber that reduces bad cholesterol and helps to manage your blood sugar & weight. Eating more than the prescribed amount of whole grains increases your carbohydrate consumption which gets converted into fat.
2. FruitsInclude about 100-150g a day such as avocado, oranges, amla, guava, apple, berries, banana etc which adds to your antioxidant intake that keeps your heart vessels to remain healthy but excess intake of fruits increases your intake of fructose such as mango, chickoo, banana, custard apple which negatively impacts blood glucose and triglyceride levels.
3. VegetablesVegetables & leafy are great in reducing your bad cholesterol, packed with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. About 3-4 servings of vegetables and fruits are recommended which should take half the place of your meal plate but again keep a watch on the intake of starchy vegetable like potato, yam and tapioca. Going overboard in fiber intake, more than the recommended intake by your Nutritionist causes bloating and hinders the absorption of vital nutrients.
4. NutsA handful of unsalted nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios,etc are excellent source of healthy fats such as omega 3 that helps to increase your good cholesterol which is a protecting factor for your heart . Since they are high in calorie content which yields around 160-200kcal (2 ounces). Some of them are high in anti- nutritional factors that hinder the absorption of nutrients if properly not treated or stored before consumption and some may contain toxins that can harm your liver.
5. Dark chocolateIt helps to reduce blood pressure due to the presence of antioxidant but at the same time presence of saturated or trans fats and sugar negatively impacts your heart health.
6. Cruciferous and leafy vegetablesCabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, dark green leafy are great source of nutrients to preserve your heart health but those who are on blood thinner medicines such as warfarin or acitrom should reduce them as they are high in vitamin K that can impact the efficacy of medication.
7. FishIt is rich in vitamin B12, zinc, omega 3 a healthy fat and safe choice of lean protein source, ideal to maintain your heart health but more than the recommended amount negatively affects your kidney health and some of them contain high mercury content which can be toxic when consumed in large amount.

Therefore, while these food items can contribute to heart protection it’s essential to maintain a diet that incorporates a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.

By adopting habits proactively you’re taking steps towards maintaining a strong cardiovascular system.

Remember that the health of your heart reflects on your wellbeing. So, make choices when it comes to what you eat and prioritize your hearts wellbeing!