Cardiovascular disease is a serious issue that we have in America. What you eat directly affects the heart. If you eat the wrong kinds of foods, you can block important blood vessels and hinder blood flowing to your heart, causing a stroke or heart attack. This can be avoided by eating nutritious foods. Here is a list of certain foods that you should be adding to your diet to make sure you and the people you love remain healthy:

1. Whole grains
Eating whole grains will also help reduce the risk of heart disease because whole grain has a lot of fiber. Fiber is good to eat when you are backed up or when you have a lot of bad cholesterol. Studies have shown that if you eat three servings of whole grain a day, you can reduce the chances of heart disease by 22%.

2. Berries
Berries are also heart-friendly foods. Berries are filled with antioxidants, these are good to add to your diet because they can reduce inflammation and help keep your blood vessels happy and moving along like they are supposed to. When something is inflamed it will usually swell, eating berries will help keep out any sickness or swelling thus keeping your heart safe from all of the bad oxidants.

3. Salmon
Eating Salmon is also extremely healthy. Fish that are filled with omega-3 fatty acids can decrease high blood pressure and lower your cholesterol. You may think eating fish would have the opposite effect but as long as you are eating the right kind of fish, and you are eating it on a regular diet, you can decrease the risk of heart disease by about 19%.

4. Nuts, beans, and dark chocolate
Following along with those, you can eat Walnuts, beans, and dark chocolate and expect the same results. Beans will help keep your blood healthy, walnuts will give you 16% less diastolic blood pressure, dark chocolate is a bit more complicated but if you eat it regularly you will find that you have a 57% less chance of heart disease. No one really knows why this is but it’s a good thing to keep in mind.

5. Dark leafy greens
Think about adding leafy greens into your diet. These can help prevent heart disease because of the fact that they reduce blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading cause of having heart disease, eating these leafy greens will lower your blood pressure so that you don’t have to worry about that being an issue. It can also improve the function of other blood cells so that they are stronger and can fight off illness better than before.

You should find that a lot of the foods on this heart-healthy diet are common foods that you probably consume often. Put them into your diet weekly and you will be healthier in no time and you won’t have to worry about potential heart disease because you know that you and everyone that you care about, are eating as healthy as possible.