Vegetables – considered as the powerhouse of fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are available in a variety of colours. It’s just about adding a new colour to our diet daily by way of these veggies. A diet low in vegetables can substantially increase the risk of heart disease, hence this is a food group which cannot be compromised on.
Include at least one green leafy vegetable daily. They are low on calorie and fat count and high in fibre. Vegetables also contain nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, folic acid etc. which are beneficial for the functioning of heart. Other veggies like Vitamin A rich tomatoes and carrots and Vitamin C rich Cabbage, Capsicum, Cauliflower work towards removing the free radicals from our body. These free radicals are usually caused due to stress and pollution and excess of free radicals in the body destroys our immune system and affect cell health and is one of the cause of many diseases including heart diseases.
Choose them wisely and cook them wisely – is the go veggie slogan!!
Avoid the starchy Vegetables like potato, suran (yam), kand (purple yam) and sweet potato and opt for the remaining lot as per your liking. By saying instead of starchy vegetables, we don’t mean to completely avoid them. Make them an occasionally used ingredient in your cooking and watch the way you cook them. For example, you can have a potato treat once in a while, but do not fry it. The calories and fat coming from fried potatoes is the actual culprit.
When it comes to vegetables for healthy heart, a meal is said to be incomplete without the use of onion and garlic. The sulphur compound in them act as anticoagulant which helps to decrease the cholesterol levels in the blood thus preventing clot formation. Hence health experts strongly advice to make raw onion and garlic a part of your daily diet. If you are fussy about eating them raw, due to bad breath, cook them with your regular food. However ensure not to overcook them as too much heating leads to loss of sulphur compounds which in reality aid in building a healthy heart. Other top heart friendly vegetables are Broccoli, Asparagus, Capsicum, tomatoes, cluster beans, Spinach, cauliflower greens etc.
Cook up a quick subzi, toss and pack a salad to carry to work, whip up a soup, roll up a roti or try out some innovative snacks using veggies – but ensure to make up for 5 to 6 servings of this food group daily.
Top 10 Vegetables List for a healthy heart |
---|
1. Bell Peppers |
2. Carrots |
3. Tomatoes |
4. Broccoli |
5. Spinach (Palak) |
6. Kale |
7. Onions |
8. Garlic |
9. Butternut Squash |
10. Potatoes |
Other articles you will find interesting related to a Heart and Cholesterol.
Healthy Heart Foods, list of best Grains Cereals
Low Fat Dairy Products for Healthy Heart
Heart Healthy Fruits
Which fats are good for healthy heart?
Fiber for Healthy Heart
Reduce Sugar and Salt for a Healthy Heart
Are All Beverages Healthy for Heart