How to eat heart healthy foods

To reduce the risk of heart disease you can do more than just eliminate saturated fats (pass on that bacon cheeseburger...) from your diet. Research has found that there are five categories of heart healthy foods. Your goal should be to have a sprinkling of all of the best foods for the heart each week:

1. Antioxidants
Examples: papaya, sweet potatoes, green tea

2. Anti-inflammatories
Examples: asparagus, chocolate

3. Omega-3 fatty acids
Examples: herring, walnuts

4. Soluble fiber
Examples: oatmeal, brown rice

5. Potassium
Examples: bananas, tomatoes

It's simple to incorporate these foods into your diet, and you needn't obsess about eating only heart healthy foods at every meal. A typical heart healthy breakfast might include a cup of oatmeal sprinkled with walnuts and dried plums, and orange juice on the side. And dinner might be a serving of pan-fried herring with brown rice. Use a cup of green tea as broth for the rice and you've got an easy way to prepare a yummy meal with heart healthy foods.