Foods Terrible for Your Heart
By Sara Butler
Heart disease is responsible for one-third of all deaths in the United States. The American Heart Association says that every 38 seconds, someone dies of heart disease. One of the biggest culprits behind such a high death toll is food. Yes, the food you eat each day has a huge impact on the health of your heart. If you want to avoid being a part of the statistics, then there are some foods you should endeavor to drastically reduce or cut out entirely from your diet. If you can stay away from these foods, then you have a better chance of keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol under control, which can vastly improve the health of your heart.
Candy
Step away from the gummy bears. Just put down the bag and step away slowly.
Americans eat about 22 pounds of candy per person, per year. Yes -- 22 pounds. Candy, no matter how you rationalize it, is pretty much all sugar, which is very calorie-dense. This can cause your body to store calories as fat and that extra body fat can put you at higher risk for heart disease. Try to silence that sweet tooth and go for a piece of fruit or 70 percent dark chocolate when you need something sweet.
Chips
OK, so chips don’t have a reputation for being a particularly healthy food to begin with, but they may be much worse than you think when it comes to the health of your heart. That’s because just one serving of chips has enough calories, sodium, and fat to drive you over your daily allowances of each easily. Too much salt especially lends itself to high blood pressure, a serious risk factor for heart disease. So, skip the salted spuds in favor of something better.
Canned Soup
Soups seems so innocuous -- chicken noodle is supposed to comfort you when you’re sick, not make you sick! Even vegetable soup packed with vegetables contains something that can undermine your heart-healthy eating: salt. Make sure when buying soup to pay attention to the servings of sodium on the nutrition label. It’s easy to go overboard on your daily salt intake when soup's involved.
Coffee Creamer
Coffee is actually really good for you, but all the stuff you put in your coffee really isn’t -- including creamers. Non-dairy creamers are full of trans fats, which can increase your bad cholesterol levels while working to decrease your good cholesterol. This is terrible for the health of your heart. It’s best to stick with whole milk in your morning coffee if you're used to cutting it with a little creamer.
Take care of your heart so you can keep it ticking for years to come.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Surprise, Ariz.