February is the month of celebrating love and kindness, and it’s also American Heart Month! This is the month to take some time to show love to your body, specifically your heart. We’ve previously shared some smart choices you can make to care of your heart, and want to give you a heart-healthy refresher on those tips along with some of our favorite recipes.
5 Tips for Heart Health Support:
First, take a look at five choices that can help support overall heart health that can go a long way towards keeping you healthy for years to come.
- Eating a wide array of whole foods, including fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and other lean proteins. All of these are rich in either fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and other components that contribute to a strong healthy body that supports optimal heart health. Choosing whole foods instead of highly processed foods also helps you keep your sodium in check below the upper limit of 1500 mg per day.
- Aim for at least 30 minutes of some form of activity per day, even if it’s just a walk around the block!
- Ensure you get enough sleep, or at least 7-8 hours. Check out our post here on how to support your sleep if you need some extra care.
- Manage stress as much as possible. Gentle activities like walking and staying active, keeping to a regular sleep/wake routine, strength training when possible, and managing your tasks each day all help with keeping stress at bay and keep your heart healthy at the same time. If you need help from others in your inner support circle, it’s important to ask for it when necessary.
- Stop smoking if you do, and keep a very low intake of alcohol within a week (1-2 glasses) or better yet, none at all. It’s been shown these 2 factors are two of the most detrimental things any of us can do to our hearts (and overall health) long term.
These five tips alone will help you create a holistic approach to heart health for the long-haul! Now, let us help you with how Lifeway Kefir can contribute even more benefits to heart health.
How Cultured Dairy Contributes to a Heart-Healthy Diet
Cultured dairy adds an important contribution to overall health, including heart health. Adding healthy dairy options, especially fermented/cultured dairy products such as Lifeway Kefir and Farmer Cheese into your daily diet at least once or twice per day make for a stronger, healthier body and immune system. Calcium found in dairy, like Lifeway Kefir, contributes to lower blood pressure levels and is naturally occurring (not supplemented or added in). The probiotics found in Lifeway Kefir and Farmer Cheese also help support lower blood sugar levels, which contributes to overall heart health.
In general, dairy consumption has been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease in studies, as indicated by its starring role in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also known as the DASH diet. The Mediterranean diet is another well-documented diet that includes lots of plant-based foods and moderate consumption of dairy, such as fermented dairy like Lifeway Kefir and Farmer Cheese.
How Lifeway Kefir Supports Heart Health
Research indicates that kefir might have an extra edge in further reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease thanks to its live and active probiotic cultures and the unique peptides produced during the long fermentation process. Research has also shown that kefir has a higher antioxidant capacity as compared to non-fermented dairy products to reduce the risk of harmful free radicals. In addition, further studies have shown kefir may be associated with a reduction in lipid profiles, inflammation markers, and homocysteine levels, along with a decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Kefir is also a source of potassium, magnesium, and calcium – all minerals that promote normal blood pressure. Blood pressure is important for supporting your heart, along with many other health factors. The probiotics in kefir may also modulate the gut microbiome to help manage trimethylamine N-oxide levels (TMA), a metabolite that raises the risk of heart disease when increased levels in the blood occur.
Our mission at Lifeway Kefir is to support you on your health journey by making the highest quality fermented dairy kefir and farmer cheese out there. Our products contain live cultures that are excellent for overall microbiome health and immune system support. Check out some of our favorite heart-healthy recipes below where we share how to use a variety of our gut-healthy kefir and farmer cheese.. We hope you enjoy them!
3 of Our Favorite Heart-Healthy Recipes Your Gut Will Love
1. Probiotic Honeycrisp Salad
This heart-healthy salad is anything but boring! With a wealth of heart-healthy greens, fruit, nuts, and low-fat Lifeway Kefir and Lifeway Farmer Cheese, this salad is a great option to make and keep in the fridge when you need something healthy and energizing in minutes. Get the recipe here.
2. Febru-berry Toast
Here’s one of our newest recipes you and your heart will love! This is a quick and healthy meal you make in minutes each morning. It also makes a great bedtime snack as well! Lifeway Farmer Cheese has live probiotics, and it has no salt added, which makes it a game-changer for your heart compared to high-sodium cheeses like cottage cheese. Get the recipe here.
3. Almond Avocado Smoothie
Almonds and avocados are well-known for their heart-healthy fats, fiber, and phytochemical that contribute to overall good health and heart health. Lifeway Kefir compliments these two incredibly healthy foods and provides billions of probiotics for gut health and immune system support as well as natural, bioavailable protein to support muscles, bones, and metabolic health. Grab the recipe here and get blending to a healthier you!
See all our recipes here, and be sure to keep up with our newest recipes over at Instagram so you don’t miss a heart-healthy beat!