You already know the heart is an incredible organ. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover just how miraculous it is.
A typical heart beats more than 100,000 times a day and pumps 1.5 gallons of blood each minute. It’s also largely responsible for getting all that blood — which delivers essential nutrients and oxygen to organs and tissues near and far — through more than 60,000 miles of blood vessels.
As strong as it is, your heart is also extremely sensitive to diet and lifestyle factors; treat it poorly, and it’s at high risk for problems.
The Heart Health Facts:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., and about three-quarters of a million people will suffer a heart attack each year. Luckily, many heart problems are preventable.
How Do You Prevent Heart Health Issues?
Regular physical activity, stress management, and adequate sleep are excellent ways to preserve cardiovascular health. But, as the old saying goes, the quickest way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. In other words, one of the best ways to protect your ticker is through what you eat and herbal supplements.
Specific eating patterns and certain foods, herbs, and other natural substances hold potent powers for promoting heart health and protecting your cellular health, says Dr. Bill Rawls, M.D., medical director of Vital Plan. They target several main factors that keep your heart and entire circulatory system strong and healthy and blood flowing optimally.
Today, we’ll walk you through the best foods and herbs to support and protect your cellular and heart functions.
Top 10 Best Foods, Nutrients, and Herbs for Heart Health
1. All the Veggies
Dr. Rawls says A diet consisting of 50% vegetables is as good as it gets for your heart. Veggies are loaded with antioxidants that help tamp down inflammation and oxidative stress. Plus, they’re high in fiber, which controls cholesterol levels and keeps the good bacteria in your gut microbiome flourishing and the bad bugs in check.
Eating more vegetables also means there’s less room on your plate for starchy grains and other carbs that your body will turn into fat, which increases cholesterol. There’s also less room for meat and saturated fats that make blood thick and sticky.
Studies continue to find that the more you follow a plant-based diet and the more produce you consume, the healthier your heart and the lower your risk for cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and a whole host of other diseases.
Need some guidance on where to begin in the produce section?
All-Star Best Vegetables For Heart Health:
- Leafy and cruciferous greens: Spinach, kale, broccoli, and cabbage contain vitamin K and nitrates, both known to be natural blood thinners. The veggies may also help control cholesterol by binding to bile acid. In fact, one review found that consuming these veggies reduces the risk of heart disease by 16 percent.
- Garlic, onions, and leeks: As allium vegetables, these are high in organosulfur compounds - specialized antioxidant phytochemicals that are anti-inflammatory and prevent the production of free radicals. They also help maintain healthy blood viscosity and increase the availability of nitric oxide, which can lower blood pressure. Research shows that consuming allium veggies may lower your risk of several heart problems. Garlic is also known for its anti-microbial powers, which can help maintain gut bacteria balance, says Dr. Rawls.
- Avocados: These cult classics are brimming with nutrients, fiber, and heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, which helps decrease blood viscosity, Dr. Rawls says. Consumption of avocados has also been shown to increase levels of “good” HDL cholesterol.
- Olives and olive oil: They fill you with lots of healthy monounsaturated fat, and are a well-known anti-inflammatory food thanks to their antioxidant polyphenols. According to a study, people who consumed most extra virgin olive oil had an almost 40% reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.
Edamame and tofu: Packed with fiber, they also contain specialized protein with bioactive peptides known to help lower cholesterol. One analysis concluded that consuming soy reduces total cholesterol and dangerous LDL. Soy is also rich in antioxidants and may help improve the function of blood vessel linings.
2. Blueberries For Heart Health
Like veggies, all types of fruit will help your heart by providing plenty of antioxidants and fiber while crowding out foods that do cardiovascular damage. But there’s something special about blueberries — namely specialized polyphenol antioxidants. Studies suggest consuming these richly colored berries helps improve endothelial function (the lining of blood vessels), arterial stiffness, and even blood pressure.
3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Whether you get them in fish like salmon and sardines, flaxseeds, or from krill oil or fish oil supplements, these polyunsaturated fats have several beneficial qualities. They’re anti-inflammatory and fight oxidative stress, Dr. Rawls says. Plus research suggests they raise your good HDL cholesterol and may help improve your body’s cholesterol profile in other ways.
Omega-3s also help improve blood viscosity, according to a report, and they’re associated with lower risk for obesity, a significant co-factor for heart problems.
Dr. Rawls’ preferred source of omega-3s is krill oil over fish oil because its phospholipid structure lends itself to greater absorption and contains other powerhouse nutrients, including astaxanthin and choline. Plus, it’s less likely to accumulate mercury than many other options.
If you want the best krill oil supplement on the market, look no further than Vital Plan’s Krill Oil Plus, which is eco-friendly and 100% traceable, unlike other brands.
4. “Better” Whole Grains
Grains aren’t totally banned from a heart-healthy menu; just be sure to consume them in moderation and make smart choices. That means ditching bread and other wheat-based, packaged foods and instead consuming small amounts of true whole grains like oats, barley, quinoa, and brown basmati rice, Dr. Rawls says.
The fiber in these grains helps keep blood sugar levels stable (they won’t flood your system with more glucose than they can burn or store), plus, they remove excess cholesterol from your system.
5. Nuts for Heart Health
A great source of healthy fat, fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients, nuts such as almonds and walnuts have repeatedly been shown to affect healthy changes in cholesterol, including increasing healthy HDL and lowering LDL, and improving endothelial function. They also help lower blood viscosity, Dr. Rawls says.
Multiple studies have also found that those who eat nuts have a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases. For example, one study reported that those with type 2 diabetes (a known risk factor for heart disease) who ate nuts had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality.
6. Hawthorn Leaf Extract Benefits
A member of the rose family, the hawthorn plant has been used for centuries for medicine, and its extract is often referred to as a “heart tonic” thanks to its myriad of benefits. “It causes mild dilation of coronary blood vessels, which helps increase and ease blood flow and lowers blood pressure,” Dr. Rawls says.
There are multiple compounds in the extract that exhibit properties that help improve blood viscosity, a study in the journal Food & Function found. “Hawthorn also increases the integrity of blood vessels and the contractility of the heart — meaning it helps the heart beat better and reduces abnormal rhythms,” Dr. Rawls adds.
7. Antioxidant Herbs
Herbs are a great way to reap the heart-protecting rewards of antioxidants. Japanese knotweed, for example, contains high concentrations of an active form of resveratrol. A potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant also found in grapes, it’s been shown to protect the heart and improve endothelial function.
Pine bark extracts are another herb with antioxidant properties that may also improve blood viscosity, according to a review.
Rutin and hesperidin are two others known for antioxidant and cardiovascular benefits. “These herbs do a lot of beneficial things in the body, but one of the most significant is how they help protect and promote the health of blood vessels,” Dr. Rawls says.
If you want a daily supplement that contains many of the heart-healthy herbs and extracts discussed - hawthorn leaf extract, Japanese knotweed, pine bark extract, rutin and more - don’t look at buying these individually. Instead try Vital Plan’s Daily Multi Plus, which was designed by Dr. Rawls, as the blend that contains all these key nutrients your cells need to thrive, pulse select herbs for added liver and cardiovascular health.
8. Adaptogen Herbs and Fungi
Reishi mushroom, cordyceps, ashwagandha, and rhodiola are all well-known adaptogens. “Adaptogens all have nice heart effects because they help the body adapt to stressors,” Dr. Rawls says. That includes physical and mental stress, which can impact heart health. Rhodiola, for example, helps promote healthy oxygen delivery to the heart and other tissues, while ashwagandha helps manage stress and anxiety.
9. Berberine Benefits
Used for thousands of years in Chinese and traditional medicine, this bitter extract is found in different barks, roots, and plants and is best known for its gut-balancing properties. That alone may help promote a healthy heart, given the gut-heart connection, but now researchers are finding berberine may exert direct beneficial effects on the heart. For example, a review reports that berberine extract may help regulate blood pressure and cholesterol to improve circulation and blood viscosity.
10. Herbs for Liver Support
Over time, toxins and free radicals can cause liver damage that may inhibit the organ’s ability to manage blood cholesterol levels, Dr. Rawls says. So consider looking to herbs such as milk thistle and dandelion, commonly used to promote healthy liver and cellular function.
Fun Fact! Vital Plan’s Daily Multi Plus contains milk thistle!
The Bottom Line: If You Want Heart Health, These Foods & Herbs Can Help
Working the right herbs, foods, and nutrients into your daily routine can go a long way toward keeping your heart in tip-top shape and your cells operating optimally.
But consider it just the beginning: If you also feed your heart cells plenty of exercise, give them lots of restful and quality sleep, and protect them from stress and toxins, they will beat loud and strong for you for years to come.
References
1. Aune, Dagfinn et al. “Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality— a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies.” Int J Epidemiol. 2017 Jun; 46(3): 1029–1056.
2. Pollock, Richard Lee. “The effect of green leafy and cruciferous vegetable intake on the incidence of cardiovascular disease: A meta-analysis.” JRSM Cardiovasc Dis. 2016 Jan-Dec; 5.
3. Blekkenhorst, Lauren C. et al. “Cruciferous and Allium Vegetable Intakes are Inversely AssociatedWith 15-Year Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease Deaths in Older Adult Women.” J Am Heart Assoc, 2017; Vol. 6, No. 10.
4. Zeng, Yawen et al. “Therapeutic Role of Functional Components in Alliums for Preventative Chronic Disease in Human Being.” Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017; 2017: 9402849.
5. Mahmassani HA et al. “Avocado consumption and risk factors for heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Apr 1;107(4):523-536.
6. Guasch-Ferré M. et al. “Olive oil intake and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in the PREDIMED study.” BMC Med. 2014 May 13;12:78.
7. Stull, AJ et al. “Blueberries improve endothelial function, but not blood pressure, in adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” Nutrients. 2015 May 27;7(6):4107-23.
8. Johnson, SA et al. “Daily blueberry consumption improves blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women with pre- and stage 1-hypertension: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015 Mar;115(3):369-77.
9. Zibaeenezhad, MJ et al. “Comparison of the effect of omega-3 supplements and fresh fish on lipid profile: a randomized, open-labeled trial.” Nutr Diabetes. 2017 Dec 19;7(12):1.
10. Larsson, Susanna C. et al. “Nut consumption and incidence of seven cardiovascular diseases.” Heart. 2018;104:1615-1620.
11. Gao, P et al. “Antiplatelet aggregation and antithrombotic benefits of terpenes and flavones from hawthorn leaf extract isolated using the activity-guided method.” Food Funct. 2019 Feb 20;10(2):859-866.
12. Rohdewald, P. “A review of the French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol), a herbal medication with a diverse clinical pharmacology.” Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2002 Apr;40(4):158-68.
13. Xia, Le-Min and Luo, Mei-Hong. “Study progress of berberine for treating cardiovascular disease.” Chronic Dis Transl Med. 2015 Dec; 1(4): 231–235.
