Did you know that your heart beats up to 100.000 times a day? Well now you do. It is also the size of your closed fist. First thing’s first, it’s important that your heart functions seamlessly, for your body to be healthy. With rapid lifestyle changes, unhealthy foods have creeped into our daily lives instead of nutritious foods that help our heart function better. Keeping this in mind, here are 5 unhealthy foods that you should steer clear of, to keep your heart health in check.
1. Processed and red meat
Eating a lot of red meat (includes pork, lamb and beef) can heighten your chances of having high cholesterol (LDL) due to the saturated fats in them. Processed meats like bacon, ham, hot dogs, salami and deli meats have a lot of salt, which can invariably shoot up your blood pressure. This can make your heart work harder. Very high amounts of salt (sodium) can also lead to a number of heart diseases and stroke. On top of that, high amounts of preservatives certainly make it worse for your heart and your entire body. All these reasons make processed and red meats the first on the unhealthy foods list.
2. Baked foods
Baked items such as cookies, bread, cakes and muffins have extremely high sugar content. This increases the risk of developing high triglyceride levels which is a type of fat found in your body. White flour, which is the main ingredient in these unhealthy foods, shoots up blood sugar. High blood sugar can not only cause various heart issues, but also diabetes. Replace whole wheat flour with healthier options such as barley and multigrain flour, reduce the amounts of sugar and reduce liquid plant oils instead of butter to minimize the damage.
3. Dairy products
Although dairy products are considered a good addition in the diet to keep your bones stronger, but excess of anything is bad. Consuming a lot of dairy products like whole fat milk, and full fat yogurt can facilitate weight gain, and we all know how weight management is crucial for a healthy heart. Instead of completely eliminating these from your diet, try healthier alternatives. Soy milk, oat milk, tofu and low fat yogurt are some options that have the goodness of dairy products, without harmful fats in them.
4. Deep fried and canned foods
Guess it’s needless to say that almost all the food that is served in QSRs (quick serving restaurants) is one of the top 5 unhealthy foods for your heart. From french fries to fried chicken, softie ice creams to slushies, and burgers to wraps, anything deep fried and sugary is a big no no. High blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes are just a few of the diseases that these foods can give rise to. And almost all of these health issues ultimately lead to your heart working overtime. And an overworking heart is a recipe for disaster. Also, if you already happen to have heart issues, these foods you should definitely avoid with heart disease.
5. Soft drinks
Soft drinks also top the unhealthy food list. This is because of excessive sugar content in them. One can/bottle of these soft drinks is more than the needed requirement of sugar for the day. And since blood sugar can directly affect the blood vessels, it can put you at more risk of heart problems.
Conclusion
Apart from avoiding these 5 unhealthy foods, exercising regularly is a must-do to keep your heart healthy. Speaking of heart healthy habits, TrueBasics Heart Omega-3 will be a great addition to your routine. Made with Antarctic krill oil, it comes packed with 4 heart-strengthening ingredients. These ingredients together help reduce cholesterol levels and reduce triglyceride levels by up to 33%.
