It’s hard to change your eating style when it’s all you’ve known and enjoyed throughout your life. Your parents instilled food habits that you’ve adapted, whether good or bad. However, if you’re carrying excess weight or not eating healthy foods, it can be causing a great deal of harm to your body.

Things like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and obesity link directly to the foods you eat. If your refrigerator is full of soda, snack foods, and processed stuff, then you’re doing more harm to your body than you realize. It would help if you had a heart-healthy diet full of rich vitamins and minerals to help you thrive.

Your system was designed to eat a plant-based diet, according to studies posted on Era of Light. Some scientists who study the human body believe that humankind should not eat meat or its by-products.

However, the fact that you’re eating things like burgers from the local fast-food joint can be why you have arthritis at the age of 25, due to the higher fat content. If you see a person in top physical shape with glowing skin, few wrinkles, and looks young beyond their years, you will see someone who eats healthily and exercises. A heart-healthy diet is a great way to eat, especially if you want longevity and quality of life.

Fifteen Benefits of Eating a Heart-Healthy Diet

Perhaps you know you should eat better, but you’re not sure where to start. This is the position that many people find themselves in, but this is a comprehensive guide to help you.

Not only will it show you what you should be eating, but it gives you all the reasons why adopting this new lifestyle is the best thing for your body. Here are the benefits of a heart-healthy diet.

heart-healthy diet

1. It’s Good for the Environment

Eating processed foods comes with packaging and waste. Heart-friendly diets contain many fresh fruits and vegetables with little to no waste.

2. A Heart-Healthy Diet Reduces Stress

You have a lot of stress every day, plus your body feels oxidative pressure. However, the powerful antioxidants in fruits and vegetables counteract these issues. Your physical and mental stress will improve with a heart-healthy diet.

3. Slows the Aging Process

Did you know that the food you eat directly impacts how fast you age? The vitamins and minerals in the fruits and veggies help flush out the harmful free radicals, which help support the DNA structure. Yes, eating healthy can make your skin glow.

4. Increases Your Productivity

When you free your system of sugar and carbs, you’re going to notice a drastic change in your energy. Your focus will become more precise, and you will get more done.

5. Increase Immunity by Eating a Heart-Healthy Diet

If your immune system is compromised, you will get every sickness that comes your way. However, you can boost your immunity with a healthy diet. It’s all about the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that you consume, as they will help to fuel your system and not drag it down.

6. A Heart-Healthy Diet Helps You Keep a Healthy Weight

A study done in Brazil shows that when obese people eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, the weight falls off. It’s because you should not eat a diet high in bad fats and sugars. It’s impossible to maintain a healthy weight if you live on fast food and snacks.

However, when you make some changes, according to this study listed on the National Library of Medicine, it alters everything.

7. Improve Sleep Quality with a Heart-Healthy Diet

Did you know that consuming oily and heavy foods can mess with your sleep cycle? When you switch to a healthier eating habit, your rest becomes more productive and routine—no more lying there counting sheep to get some shut eye.

8. Decreases the Risk of Developing Cancer

Your diet and genetic factors can dictate if you will have abnormal cell growth. According to World Health Organization, cancer is the second leading cause of death. What you eat could directly impact whether you get this horrible disease.

9. Strengthens Teeth and Bones

Healthy teeth and bones are imperative for overall good health. Thankfully, a heart-healthy diet can assist. Things like egg yolks, liver, and saltwater fish are packed full of vitamins and minerals that help keep your teeth and bones strong. Plus, you can help keep things like osteoporosis at bay.

10. Eating a Heart-Healthy Diet Increases Longevity

One of the most significant advantages of a plant-based eating style is reducing inflammation. Inflammation causes things like cancer and heart disease. However, you can extend your life by lowering your inflammatory response with healthy eating.

11. Boosts Brain Health and Elevates Your Mood

When talking about brain health, it’s all about those omega-3 fatty acids. Your cell membrane depends on it, which is why a heart-healthy diet is so powerful. Did you know that many mental health conditions are treated with diet first?

Ask anyone who does the Keto diet how their mood and mental clarity shift when they cut the carbs. After all, doctors initially suggested this diet to help people suffering from epilepsy.

12. Can Reverse Diabetes

Many people turn to radical treatments to get their diabetes under control. However, one of the best things you can do for your type 2 diabetes is to switch to a plant-based diet. You will see your glucose levels drop when you fuel your body with fruits and vegetables rather than processed foods, and the weight you lose also helps with diabetes.

13. Your Heart Works More Efficiently

Of course, if you eat a heart-healthy diet, you’re going to have a better heart. It’s key to keep your triglycerides and cholesterol levels in check, or they can cause your heart to weaken and cause a blockage. That’s why this diet is great because it keeps your blood pressure in check as well as your cholesterol.

14. Enhanced Digestion

There’s nothing worse than chronic digestive issues, but the foods that you eat are causing most of the problems. Your gut needs the dietary fiber found in plant-based foods, so consuming junk and fast food isn’t going to help your digestion.

15. You’ll Have Healthier Skin by Consuming a Heart-Healthy Diet

Are you prone to breakouts and acne? It could be what you’re eating. Eating things like vegetables, fatty fish, and nuts rich with omega-3 fatty acids as they can improve your skin.

heart-healthy diet

What Foods Can You Eat on A Heart-Healthy Diet?

It’s always good to have a grocery list that can help you prepare for a new eating style. Most fruits and vegetables are acceptable, as well as healthy fats. Here is a comprehensive list, so you know what to buy on your next shopping trip.

Fruits

  • Avocados
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Blackberries
  • Apples
  • Cranberries
  • Oranges
  • Grapefruit
  • Bananas (more green and less ripened)
  • Figs
  • Dates
  • Cherries
  • Plantains
  • Cucumbers
  • Pomegranate
  • Tomatoes
  • Cantaloupe
  • Honeydew

Limit fruits like pineapple, pear, peaches, and watermelon as they have high sugar content.

Vegetables

  • Spinach
  • Squash
  • Kale
  • Arugula
  • Green Beans
  • Beets
  • Beans
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Bell Peppers
  • Asparagus
  • Celery

Limit foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, corn, and peas due to their high sugar content.

Herbs and Spices for a Heart-Healthy Diet

  • Cinnamon
  • Turmeric
  • Red Pepper Flakes
  • Oregano
  • Parsley
  • Ginger
  • Thyme
  • Rosemary
  • Black Cumin
  • Capers
  • Celery Seed
  • Fenugreek

Grains

  • Buckwheat
  • Oats
  • Brown rice
  • Quinoa
  • Barley

Nuts, Seeds, and Legumes

  • Cashews
  • Almonds
  • Brazil nuts
  • Macadamia
  • Pecans
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Flax seeds

Limit intake of peanuts due to the high mold content that these nuts contain.

Also, note that all legumes are considered heart smart.

Oils

  • Olive
  • Coconut
  • Sunflower
  • Canola
  • Ghee
  • Natural or plant-based kinds of butter

Don’t use margarine in exchange for butter. According to Healthy Food, it’s full of harmful ingredients that aren’t heart-healthy.

Dairy Products for a Heart-Healthy Diet

  • Almond, oat, rice, or hemp milk
  • Skim or 1 percent cow’s milk
  • Non-sweetened plain, Greek-style yogurt
  • Cheese (all kinds)
  • Cottage cheese
  • Ricotta
  • Cream cheese

With this list in hand, it shouldn’t be too hard to develop a meal plan that can suit your dietary needs. Remember, the more foods you buy from the fresh produce section, the better your heart health and waistline.

Before you head to the grocery store, a tip is to avoid the center of the store where they display highly processed foods. Try to focus on the perimeters where the grocers stock the healthier foods like fresh produce.

heart-healthy diet

Final Thoughts on Eating a Heart-Healthy Diet

There are numerous benefits to eating a heart-healthy diet. When you stop choosing fast food, sugary snacks, and high-calorie items, you will improve your overall health. You need to fuel your body and not cause it to be compromised from inflammatory issues and a weakened immune system.

When you adopt this new lifestyle, you will lose weight, feel mentally sharp, have more energy, and even have glowing skin. Don’t think of all the foods that you’re giving up that you love but think of the health that you’re gaining.