Want to keep your heart healthy? Eat more foods packed with antioxidants. Women who ate the most antioxidant-containing foods were 20% less likely to suffer a heart attack than women whose diets contained the least amount of antioxidants, according to a nearly 10-year-long Swedish study of over 32,500 cardiovascular-disease-free women recently published in The American Journal of Medicine.
Here’s how it works: When LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) in the bloodstream becomes oxidized, plaque is formed and begins to build up in your arteries, explains Suzanne Steinbaum, M.D., a national physician spokesperson for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement. Heart attacks occur when this artery-clogging plaque cuts off blood flow. Antioxidants, however, are thought to prevent the initial oxidation, which keeps the plaque from building up in the first place.
Your best bet for now is to stick to antioxidant-rich foods, rather than supplements—not because supplements are useless, but because that’s what this particular research studied, Steinbaum says.
Of course, women who eat healthy foods probably also make other smart lifestyle choices that protect their heart health. But you’ve got nothing to lose from adding antioxidant-rich foods to your diet—it can only help. “You might feel better,” Steinbaum says. “You might lose weight. There’s no downside, and in fact, a diet that incorporates fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will take care of every other aspect of your health, not just heart health.”
Can’t argue with that. Discover 22 of the most potent food sources of the seven best antioxidants, here.
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