You can significantly improve your heart health -- regardless of your family history -- through the power of heart healthy eating.

You may have already tried to do this to some degree. You eat less red meat and switched to skim dairy products to avoid saturated fats. You’ve researched low cholesterol recipes and sought out tips for natural cholesterol reduction. You’ve acquired a taste for tofu, lots of fresh vegetables, and a range of whole grains. You’ve looked into the Mediterranean diet and learned that some fats, like olive oil, are better for your heart health. You now satisfy your yen for bread and butter with a crusty baguette dipped, but not doused, in olive oil. You may also enjoy other heart healthy foods, such as oat cereals in the morning and a salmon entrée in restaurants. Read More...

Diverse paths to a healthy heart

Eating for a healthy heart does not mean following the diet your sister-in-law raves about. Her diet may not help you lose weight or help you get the nutrients you need. For you, it may not be a healthy path. Eating for a healthy heart is an individual journey based on your food preferences, daily routines, and your individual health profile. Each of us has different tastes, risks, and lifestyle preferences. So how do you find your own path to heart healthy eating? Read More...

How macronutrients and micronutrients come together

The best approach to heart health is a diet built around maximizing the foods that help and minimizing the foods that harm. Understanding the role of the macronutrients -- protein, good fats and bad fats, good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates -- along with the micronutrients -- antioxidants, plant sterols, fibers, sodium, potassium, and Omega-3s -- is critical in supporting long term heart health and vital aging. Read More...

The micronutrients: a framework for a healthy heart

Antioxidants

Plant Sterols
Fibers
Sodium
Potassium
Omega-3s

Approximately 70-80 percent of the cholesterol found in the bloodstream is produced in our body. Only a small portion comes from the food we eat. A cholesterol-lowering diet not simply a low cholesterol diet -- can alter cholesterol levels in your body in ways comparable to cholesterol lowering drugs. Remember though, the power of nutrition for natural cholesterol reduction lies with an integrated dietary program bringing together the right macro and micro nutrients in a way that also leads you to a healthier weight levels. Read More...

Why routine testing fails to detect many heart attacks -- and what you can do about it

Fifty percent of heart attacks occur in individuals who do not have extensive narrowing of the arteries. Many people will pass routine heart tests and then suffer a heart attack. New tests are becoming available to allow you to better assess your risk, today and into the future. Learn what they are.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on the latest diets, but Americans continue to gain weight. Many Americans try one diet after another, losing and gaining the weight again and again, repeating the same depriving, discouraging, demoralizing process. It is estimated that over 95 percent of all people who lose weight on a diet gain it back again. Read More...

For most of us, knowing what to do is only the beginning. Making the transition from knowing to doing is the day-to-day challenge. In the Kardea Kitchen, we provide you with recipes and meal plans, cooking tips, charts defining good sources of important nutrients, and updates on the latest research that will help you move from the text to the table. Read More...