Keeping your heart healthy is one of the most important things you can do for your body. Eating the wrong foods can cause major issues for your heart over the years. While the foods listed below are all fine in moderation, the harm they can do to your cardiovascular system may not be worth the momentary satisfaction.
Processed Food
Frozen and processed foods contain high amounts of sodium and cholesterol. They are often filled with preservatives, additives, and artificial flavors to keep them on the shelves and in the freezer section longer. Choose fresh foods whenever possible and skip the fillers.
Soft Drinks
Soft drinks really serve no purpose in our diets. These drinks are high in sugar and calories and have no nutritional value. The empty calories you consume from these drinks are linked to obesity, diabetes, and numerous heart ailments.
Fried Food
Fried foods are probably the worst for your ticker. They are loaded with saturated fats and are known to raise your cholesterol. The oil in fried foods tighten arteries and causes inflammation.
Chips
While chips are an addicting little snack, they do more damage than good. Chips have no notional value and may actually be removing nutrients from your body. Chips are often made with the fat substitute olestra which is known to stick to vitamins and flush them out of your body. This ingredient is used to keep chips fat free and lower in cholesterol but it isn’t without a price.
Alcohol
Alcohol is fine in moderation and some say that a glass of wine may actually be beneficial for your health. Too much alcohol, however, can increase your risk of stroke, and harm your liver. It affects your body’s ability to clot blood and a host of other problems for your heart including atrial fibrillation. Alcoholic drinks are also just empty calories.
Bacon
There’s no denying bacon is delicious. Unfortunately, the amount of fat and nitrates found in bacon can clog arteries, increase inflammation and form nitrosamines which are carcinogens.
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