Want a Healthier Heart? Eat These 5 Types of Foods

Adding more nutrition to your diet can help keep your blood pressure in check, lower your cholesterol and improve your cardiovascular health.

Your heart has an important job: It pumps blood throughout your body, regulates blood pressure and keeps you alive. Since the heart is one of the most important parts of the body, it needs to be healthy and your diet plays an important role in this.

Everyone from the American Heart Association to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended choosing certain foods to improve health. Since a healthy diet can reduce other heart problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, it's worth keeping this in mind when planning your weekly meals.

Continue reading to learn what foods to look for, what you should eat, and which foods are good for the heart.

Read more: Mediterranean Diet for Beginners: Health benefits, what to eat and what to do?

What is a Heart Healthy Diet?

Research shows two things: foods that pose a high risk for your heart and foods that strengthen your heart. Luckily, you won't get hit with a bunch of curveballs. The best foods for heart health are foods that you already think are healthy. Likewise, heart-healthy foods will be on your radar because they're not good for your body.

Let's say this without going too deep here: everything is in moderation. Unless you already know you have heart health issues, there's no need to cut out foods or make major changes. We're not saying you can't eat another piece of bacon or open another bottle of soda. Instead, focusing on a heart-healthy diet can help you include more of these foods in your diet.

Now let's talk about the details. According to the American Heart Association and Institute of Health, a heart-healthy diet is rich in:

Lean protein
Fiber-rich, rich complex carbohydrates
healthy fats
Vegetables, along with colorful fruits, full grains, proteins, and good fats will provide your body with fiber, vitamins, and the nutrition it needs to support a healthy heart.