Heart-Shaped Foods Keep the Ticker Healthy

Eat heart-shaped foods to keep you heart healthy, a nutrition expert suggests.

February is both the month of love and heart health. Katie Eliot, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University suggests that people take care of their heart by eating foods that resemble the shape of a heart.

"Being red and heart shaped can be a tip off that some foods are good for your heart," Eliot says in a news release. "Many heart shaped fruits and vegetables are great sources of antioxidants. These compounds act like shields, taking the hit from free radicals that otherwise damage the body and cause heart disease and cancer."

Fruits such as tomatoes and peppers have high levels of antioxidants, which protect the heart from several diseases. Foods high in fiber such as apples and acorn squash help lower bad cholesterol in the body and reduce plaque, which is a major cause of stroke and heart attacks.

Raspberries and strawberries have high levels of polyphenol while cherries contain anthocyanin and potassium, which protect blood vessels and keep hypertension under control.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 600,000 people die of heart disease each year in the United States. The agency says that most people can prevent or at least control the disease by adopting simple lifestyle changes.

Eating a healthy diet, exercising, quitting smoking and reducing stress are some of the changes that can help prevent heart disease, the agency says.

Health experts recommend that people eat at least five different fruits and vegetables every day. According to Eliot, keep your heart healthy during the season of love by choosing heart-shaped foods.

"To help keep your ticker ticking, celebrate heart month and Valentine's Day by making sure at least two of those five fruits and veggies are heart shaped or red," Eliot says. "It's a happy coincidence that many of these foods actually resemble the organ they help to protect."

Salmon, avocado, oatmeal and soy are good for heart health, according to an earlier article by CNN.