Nutrients for Heart Health

When it comes to keeping your heart healthy and happy, what’s on your plate can make all the difference. Loading up on fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins can give your heart a helping hand by maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and keeping your blood pressure in check. Eating more of these foods means eating more fiber and antioxidants which benefit many aspects of our health. Specifically with our heart health, these foods also introduce critical minerals and vitamins that your heart needs to stay strong.

Calcium + Vitamin D

Calcium is commonly associated with strong and healthy bones, but it also plays a number of roles when it comes to our heart health. Some research shows that calcium may have a positive effect on increasing our HDL (a.k.a. “good”) cholesterol and decreasing LDL (a.k.a. “bad”) cholesterol. To get the most out of calcium, it’s essential you get enough Vitamin D. These two nutrients work together to help reduce development of hypertension, which in turn will reduce risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Food sources of calcium include milk and other dairy products, canned fish, and dark leafy greens. Both calcium and vitamin D can also be found in fortified 100% orange juice. While vitamin D can be found in fortified milk and some fatty fish, it can also be absorbed through moderate levels of sun exposure which can be achieved by simply walking outdoors.

Magnesium

While calcium is an essential mineral for heart health, it also requires balance through magnesium. Calcium helps to contract heart muscles, while magnesium helps to relax heart muscles resulting in lower blood pressure levels. Another benefit of magnesium, though lesser known, is its positive effects on mental health. Studies show that magnesium can increase serotonin levels, our “happy hormone”. As a result magnesium enhances relaxation which is another important factor in our blood pressure and overall heart health.

Plant-based foods such as legumes, whole grains, and dark leafy greens are great sources of magnesium.

Potassium

Similar to magnesium, potassium also plays a major role in lowering blood pressure by helping to relax the walls of blood vessels, allowing for proper blood flow through the heart. This mineral is actually dependent on magnesium as a mode of transportation into heart cells. Potassium also plays a role in conduction of electrical signals in the heart, which can protect the heart from irregular heartbeats.

Potassium can easily be found in fruits such as bananas, apricots, avocados and many others. You can increase how much potassium you eat by also including vegetables like dark leafy greens, and root vegetables like potatoes, yams, carrots, and squash.

Beyond Our Plate

While focusing on a healthier eating pattern is important, moving our bodies is also essential for better heart health. A mix of resistance training and cardio workouts are ideal, and according to the American Heart Association, adults should aim for at least 150 minutes per week. However, if building an exercise routine is new to you, brisk walking can be a great place to start and you can build from there on distance and intensity of exercises.

It’s also important to consider other activities that can help improve your mental health and promote more relaxation in order to reduce stress throughout the day. This includes creating an evening routine to help wind down and get ready for a restful night of sleep. It can also include simple hobbies that bring you joy.

While there are many factors to consider for your heart health, it’s really all about making simple choices and starting small. It can start with adding more fruits and vegetables, or cutting back salty snacks, or going for longer walks each day. Small changes add up to big benefits so make sure to start today for a healthy and happy heart!

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References

1. Harvard Health Publishing. (2019, May 3). Key minerals to help control blood pressure – Harvard Health. Harvard Health; Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/key-minerals-to-help-control-blood-pressure
2. Latic, N., & Erben, R. G. (2020). Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease, with Emphasis on Hypertension, Atherosclerosis, and Heart Failure. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(18), 6483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21186483
3. Magnesium. Mount Sinai Health System. (n.d.). https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/magnesium#:~:text=Magnesium%20and%20calcium%20work%20together,attack%20survivors%20have%20been%20mixed.
4. Villa-Etchegoyen, C., Lombarte, M., Matamoros, N., Belizán, J. M., & Cormick, G. (2019). Mechanisms Involved in the Relationship between Low Calcium Intake and High Blood Pressure. Nutrients, 11(5), 1112. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11051112
5. Zarzour, F., Didi, A., Almohaya, M., & Kendler, D. (2023). Cardiovascular Impact of Calcium and Vitamin D Supplements: A Narrative Review. Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea), 38(1), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2022.1644