Foods to Fight Heart Disease
By Genevieve Smith
If there were certain foods that helped prevent heart disease, would you eat them? Luckily, below is a handy list of fruits and vegetables that step up to that challenge. High in antioxidants, the foods on this list are able to neutralize free radicals, which have an effect on the negative repercussions of high cholesterol levels. Stock your pantry with the listed variety of produce, switching between frozen and fresh, raw and cooked, to reap the most benefits for your heart.
How Antioxidants Help Fight Heart Disease
Antioxidants are present in a variety of whole foods, and they are a blessing to the body as they step up to help neutralize the destructive force of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules which are incomplete, and chaotic because of such. Searching for an electron to make them whole again, free radicals bash into other cells in an attempt to steal an electron away. In the process, they harm other molecules, and in the case of heart disease, they can cause cholesterol cells to break down and bury into artery walls. The problem there is that this process catalyzes a flood of white blood cells to march up and address the fallen cholesterol cell; they turn to devouring the cholesterol, and during the breakdown, a white foam is produced. This fluff of fat cells is left behind, and when it builds upon itself from an accumulation of fallen cholesterol cells, it forms that dreadfully feared plaque, the main cause of a heart attack.
The Produce to Eat
The more antioxidants present in the body, the higher the odds that a larger swath of restless free radicals will be neutralized, and cause less damage to your other happily-complete cells. In the case of antioxidants versus free radicals, it’s a sheer numbers game. Bolster your odds by turning to these foodstuffs, making sure to switch off between raw and cooked for different benefits, as the heat from cooking changes chemical compositions and creates a variation in molecules with different health properties.
- Cabbage
- Blueberries
- Avocado
- Grapefruit
- Carrots
- Grapes
- Onions
- Soy beans
- Tomatoes
Antioxidants are touted by nutritionists for their many benefits. They freely give up electrons to restless free radicals to protect cells essential to your health. While the protective molecules are present in produce, herbs and spices beyond this list, having a healthy supply of these fruits and vegetables on hand will ensure you’re eating high levels of the good stuff.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Dawsonville, Ga.