Go Red for Women!:
Top Five Red Foods to Eat for a Healthy Heart!
It’s Heart Health Month, meaning this month is ablaze with
the color red! The purpose of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement is to call
attention to the fact that heart disease is the #1 killer of women (and men).
Take care of your heart and tap into the heart-healthy power of eating red to
garner the healing power of this fabulous group of nutrition powerhouse foods.
Red is the new green,
at least as far as heart-healthy eating goes. The bright hue of red foods (and
no, we don’t mean the Red Hots candy you ate as a kid) is a sure sign the food
is packed with a lot of disease-fighting antioxidant plant chemicals. The
specific phytochemicals include some names you may have heard before: lycopene,
carotenoids and resveratrol.
Here is a list of the top five red foods you should be
eating on a regular basis to keep your ticker strong:
Tomatoes:
Tomatoes and cooked tomato products (such as tomato sauce and tomato paste) are
high in the powerful antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene is a plant pigment
responsible for the deep red color of tomatoes. Lycopene has numerous health
benefits, most notably its ability to ward off prostate cancer in men.
When it comes to heart health, lycopene stops LDL or “bad” cholesterol from becoming oxidized by free radicals, hence preventing the formation of arterial plaque. Cooking tomatoes has been shown to increase the amount of lycopene that the body can absorb by breaking down plant cells that trap the substance, so eat that tomato sauce!
Try the Nutrition Together Shrimp Fra Diavolo lycopene-rich recipe. Serve with a dark leafy green salad and wash it down with a nice glass of pinot noir for a perfect heart-healthy dinner.
When it comes to heart health, lycopene stops LDL or “bad” cholesterol from becoming oxidized by free radicals, hence preventing the formation of arterial plaque. Cooking tomatoes has been shown to increase the amount of lycopene that the body can absorb by breaking down plant cells that trap the substance, so eat that tomato sauce!
Try the Nutrition Together Shrimp Fra Diavolo lycopene-rich recipe. Serve with a dark leafy green salad and wash it down with a nice glass of pinot noir for a perfect heart-healthy dinner.
Red Bell Peppers:
Who knew? One red bell pepper has three times the vitamin C as an orange! Red
bell peppers are also packed with other antioxidants as well as fiber which
functions to keep your intestines in good shape as well as lower your cholesterol.
Try snacking on red pepper with a hummus dip—delicious and simple to make.
Beets: Reddish
purple beets are chock full of plant chemicals called anthocyanins which give
them such a deep red color. Anthocyanin pigments and the associated flavonoid
polyphenols have demonstrated the ability to protect against a myriad of human
diseases, and anthocyanins are also powerful antioxidants that can protect the
heart.
Apples: An apple
a day truly does keep the doctor (cardiologist) away! Sometimes the best heart
medicine is the kind you can get from your produce section. In this case,
apples contain a large amount of pectin, a soluble fiber, which blocks
cholesterol absorption in the gut and encourages the body to excrete the
cholesterol. Apple peels are also packed with polyphenols -- antioxidants that
prevent cellular damage from free radicals. So whatever you do, don’t toss the
peel.
Red wine: Red
wine is liquid heart medicine. Studies have shown that drinking one glass a day
with a meal promotes clear, healthy arteries. Make sure to go red and not white
when you choose your color of wine as red contains the powerful antioxidant
resveratrol as well as flavonoids which partner together to ease arterial
inflammation. Your best bet for maximum antioxidant power is to drink either
pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon. Remember, one glass a day is all you need; any
more could cause health problems. Don’t drink? Try a small glass of 100%
Concord grape juice instead.
Do your heart a favor and "go red" this month by
including these heart-healthy red foods into your daily diet. Add some of these
foods to your day and with the support of Fitness Together you’ll surely be
giving your heart the gift of health this month.
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