Did you know? Heart disease is the biggest killer in the U.S. That’s true for men and women alike.

However, you can do a lot to change your risk for heart disease. Two of the biggest risk factors are high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Eating heart-healthy foods can lower both cholesterol and blood pressure.

Our team at AFC Urgent Care Fountain City has some suggestions how to make heart-healthy eating tasty, too.

What Foods Are Good for My Heart?

You’ve probably heard you need to avoid fatty foods. That’s partly true. To lower your blood cholesterol, avoid foods containing “bad” fats and focus on robust main courses including lentils, nuts and fatty fish. Eat whole-grain breads for energy, and add plenty of dark greens and brightly colored fruits. Oh, and throw in a tad of dark chocolate for dessert.

Take this diet to the next level and lower your blood pressure by seasoning with herbs and spices rather than salt. Look out for salt that’s hidden in processed foods, too!

Tasty Heart-Healthy Foods

• Avocado—Try home-made guac on whole-grain tortilla chips
• Tea—Make it a party with a seed cake!
• Okra—Season and oven bake
• Strawberries—Spritz with a tiny blob of coconut whipped cream

How Can I Make My Cooking Healthier?

If you’re like us, you probably have a ton of foods you’ve loved forever…that aren’t exactly heart-healthy. If you put your creativity to work, you can probably discover tasty ways to turn these foods into good-for-you treats.

For one thing, you can play with how you cook. Instead of frying food in lard, sauté it in olive oil. Instead of adding salt to greens, add a splash of vinegar.

Creative Changes

• Deep fry…sauté
• Pan fry…oven bake
• Lard…olive oil
• Vegetable oil in a dessert recipe…yogurt or applesauce

Want to learn more about your risk for heart disease? Make an AFC TeleCare appointment with our AFC Urgent Care Fountain City team to get answer from home.