Читать книгу Personal Finance After 50 For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 49

One of the most important aspects of healthy living is ensuring that your heart is in tiptop shape. You can start by choosing to eat the following foods, which have heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory properties:

 Alcohol: You must be careful with the amount (and type) of alcohol you drink. Women can have one drink per day while men can partake of two. The benefits of alcohol? It raises levels of healthy HDL cholesterol and also helps you to wind down so your blood pressure can do the same. (Just be sure not to drink too close to bedtime, because alcohol can disrupt sleep in some folks.) The best alcohol to choose is red wine with its abundant antioxidants.

 Dark chocolate: Eating dark (not milk) chocolate may lower blood pressure, increase good HDL cholesterol, and lower nasty LDL cholesterol. Interesting fact: The Kuna Indians (who live near Panama) drink more than five cups of flavonoid-rich cocoa a day. They have little age-related hypertension.

 Extra-virgin olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil contains healthy phytonutrients and monounsaturated fats, which boost good HDL cholesterol. The docs recommend that about 25 percent of your diet come from healthy fats (for example, olive oil, avocados, and nuts).

 Fish: Fatty fish, such as mahi-mahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia, whitefish, and wild, line-caught salmon, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that reduce triglycerides in your blood. High triglycerides can cause plaque buildup in your arteries. Omega-3s also help reduce the risk of arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) after a heart attack, decrease blood pressure, and make platelets less sticky, which reduces clotting. The docs recommend three portions of fatty fish per week.

 Fruits and veggies: Many fruits and vegetables — for example, red grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, and onions — contain powerful antioxidants called flavonoids and carotenoids.

 Garlic: A clove a day is believed to be beneficial to help thin your blood and lower blood pressure. You can take 400 milligrams in pill form (called allicin) if you don’t care for the taste of garlic or its effects on your breath.

 Magnesium-rich foods: Whole-grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocados, beets, and raisins help lower blood pressure and reduce arrhythmias by expanding the arteries. Strive to get 400 milligrams of magnesium each day from your food.