February is heart health awareness month. It’s important to take steps to protect your heart's health. One way to promote a healthy heart is by focusing your diet to focus on heart-healthy options. Your diet is one of the biggest influencers of your overall health, and the health of your heart is no exception. Learn about how to eat with your heart health in mind. Visit AFC Urgent Care Castle Rock for same-day health and wellness guidance services available on a walk-in basis.

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How Does Diet Influence Your Heart Health

Although your heart is not a part of your digestive tract, what you put in your body can have a massive impact on your overall health, including your heart health. When you eat something, your body breaks it down in the digestive tract and extracts the nutrients to distribute them around the body. The nutrients are moved through the body via your bloodstream. This means that they eventually make their way to your heart, which is the main organ responsible for pumping blood through your body.

This means that anything that you eat will eventually make its way through your heart valves as it is pumped around your body. Because of this, your heart is exposed to a lot of things that it doesn’t want or need. This includes sodium, sugar, and different kinds of fats. Your body is able to safely handle a baseline amount of these nutrients, however, consuming them in access can cause a build-up in and around your heart.

How to Eat for Heart Health

Increase Fruit & Vegetable Intake

Fruits and vegetables are a healthy option to increase your dietary fiber and get viral nutrients without consuming harmful fats and other nutrients that can cause build-up around the heart. In order to stay full, focus on a well-rounded selection of fruits and vegetables, not just leafy greens. 

Reduce Fat Consumption

Consuming too much fat is the main cause of build-up around the heart. They easily clump together and can build up a thick coating in your arteries which can restrict blood flow over time. Although it may be difficult to completely eliminate fats from your diet, you can opt for healthier, non-trans-fat options such as olive oil, nuts and seeds, and avocado. Cholesterol-lowering butter options are available at most grocery stores and are a healthier alternative to fats such as bacon grease or normal full-fat butter.

Maintain a Healthy Weight By Managing Portion Sizes

Overeating in any capacity can cause strain on your heart over time. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight can help you improve your heart health. Make sure to portion out your food groups appropriately and be conscious of foods like fats and grains so that you can avoid exposing your heart to sources of buildup.

Focus on Heart-Healthy Foods

There are a plethora of foods that are said to be heart-healthy. Replacing your current diet staples with just a few of these foods can help you significantly reduce the risk of build-up accumulating around your heart. It is important to note that these foods still need to be consumed in moderation, as over-consuming may have the opposite effect. Some examples of heart-healthy foods include:

• Leafy greens
• Avocados
• Nuts & seeds
• Beans
• Berries
• Whole grains
• Garlic

Visit AFC Urgent Care Castle Rock for Walk-In Health & Wellness Services

Protecting your heart is a long-term commitment that requires you to do your research and stay disciplined. However, with just a few simple steps, you can improve your diet to be more heart-healthy this new year. At AFC Urgent Care Castle Rock, we offer same-day health and wellness services available to patients in Castle Rock, CO, on a walk-in basis. Simply walk into our clinic when it’s convenient for you, or pre-register your visit online.

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Our medical staff is board-certified and ready to help you make the lifestyle adjustments necessary to prioritize your health this year. At AFC Urgent Care Castle Rock, we want to help you stay healthy. Don’t put your health on hold, visit AFC Urgent Care Castle Rock for preventative health care services. To learn more about our clinic, contact us directly by calling 303-660-9700. We accept most major medical insurance plans and offer affordable care options.