Your heart is an amazing organ that works tirelessly to pump blood and oxygen throughout your body. Making the right food choices can have a profound impact on the health of your heart. With the many challenges of running an agricultural business, farmers and workers have to take care of their heart. It starts with eating right.
In an article published on Health For Mzansi, Dr Nontuthuko Mashimane, an iridologist and founder of Evolve Genix, explains why a variety of fruits and vegetables are key to a healthy heart. And if you enjoy meat and poultry, lean and unprocessed is the way to go.
Don’t overlook the effects of your everyday habits on your heart health, warns Mashimane. Habits like drinking energy drinks, drinking too much alcohol and smoking can have a negative impact on the heart.
“Alone and together, they set the stage for artery-damaging atherosclerosis and spur it onward. They do this by deranging metabolism and changing cells and tissues.”
Dietary considerations for heart health
According to Association for Dietetics in South Africa (Adsa) spokesperson Megan Pentz-Kluyts, a nutrition and dietetics consultant with a focus on cardiovascular health based in Cape Town, what you consume and don’t eat is merely one element of the puzzle.
Pentz-Kluyts suggests that oily fish, sardines, butterfish, salmon, mackerel, herring snoek, and fresh tuna are some of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
In addition, plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids include leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, as well as nuts and seeds, such as walnuts, Brazil nuts, and pecans, add chai seeds and flaxseeds – in acceptable amounts to up your intake.
To select healthful oils, she recommends choosing between canola seed oil and linseed or flaxseed oil.
Pentz-Kluyts states that egg yolks (omega-3 poultry eggs) are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and quality protein.
“Researchers found that seasoning foods with about 1.3 teaspoons (a heaped teaspoon) of dried herbs and spices a day was linked with a lower blood pressure after four weeks.”
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The article was written by Vateka Halile and first published on Health For Mzansi.
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