5 Foods to Unclog Arteries

You have one heart in your human body and if it becomes damaged; it is difficult to replace. Your heart is a pump. If the arteries get clogged, the heart cannot work well, and this leads to much bigger problems. 

Almost half of U.S. adults have a heart or blood vessel disease. The cause of 43% of U.S. cardiovascular fatalities is coronary heart disease (or hardened or clogged arteries).

The good news is that our body adapts and you can give it a chance at fighting diseases. You can maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle by incorporating foods to unclog arteries as a part of your regular diet.

Now, let’s discuss what causes clogged arteries and how to unclog arteries, including the five foods that can help you do it.

What Causes Clogged Arteries?

Arteries are vessels you have that carry blood rich in oxygen from your heart to everywhere else in your body. You hope your arteries are wide open and that if they are, this won’t change. Open arteries allow blood to flow freely and quickly wherever it needs to be.

Clogged arteries happen when plaque builds up. Plaque is typically made up of minerals such as fats, cholesterol, and calcium. If you have high cholesterol levels, this can cause a buildup of plaque.

Sometimes high cholesterol is genetic. Sometimes it is lifestyle and diet.

How to Prevent Clogged Arteries

The best choice you can make is preventing clogged arteries versus having plaque build that you will need to fix later on. Besides your diet with some food choices that we are about to discuss, there are other lifestyle choices you can make for preventing clogged arteries.

First, exercise regularly. If you smoke, stop smoking. Finally, take steps to reduce stress.

Stress can affect your body oddly. One thing that your body may do in response to stress, unfortunately, is it will increase the cholesterol in the blood. It will also add plaque deposits in your arteries.

Foods to Unclog Arteries

While we just went through a few lifestyle choices, diet is still critical for how to unclog arteries. You want to add heart-healthy foods as a part of your daily and weekly routine.

Without further ado, let’s review the five foods to unclog arteries we recommend.

1. Avocados

Studies have shown that consuming avocado daily leads to better blood cholesterol. Specifically, higher HDL and lower LDL. HDL cholesterol helps maintain arteries so that they are clear of obstruction.

Next time you are making a sandwich, you can choose to add a little avocado instead of mayonnaise. You can mix a little with your choice of protein for dinner, too.

2. Asparagus

A natural artery unclogging food, asparagus can assist with preventing blood clots and lowering blood pressure. Asparagus is amazingly full of minerals, fibers, and vitamins like K, B1, B2, C, and E. You can prevent cardiovascular diseases by digesting this potent veggie.

3. Broccoli

It may not be everyone’s favorite vegetable of all time, but even if it’s not your first choice, there are still plenty of things to love about broccoli. It’s rich in Vitamin K, and this vitamin can help keep calcium from creating damage to your arteries.

Broccoli is full of fiber too. Fiber helps lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

4. Pomegranate

The pomegranate fruit has phytochemicals and these act-like antioxidants to protect and prevent damage to the lining of the arteries. You can drink pomegranate juice too, which stimulates the production of nitric oxide in the body. This works to keep your arteries open and blood flowing.

5. Cranberries

Another antioxidant-rich food, cranberries are exceptional fruit that can reduce your LDL and raise your HDL cholesterol levels. Drinking pure cranberry juice regularly can help to lower your risk overall by as much as 40% for heart disease.

Are Clogged Arteries Common?

Now you may wonder are clogged arteries common, and how worried you should be. A blockage of arteries that is referred to as coronary artery disease is the most usual type of heart disease there is.

Affecting 18.2 million Americans aged 20 years and older, coronary heart disease killed almost 366,000 people in the year 2017.

Further, there was another startling report that over 40% of adults surveyed with no known heart disease still found fatty deposits in their heart arteries.

So, is it common? Well, there are enough people at risk to be concerned. If you are worried about your arteries, you can learn more with Modern Vascular and find out if you are at risk.

Clogged Arteries Symptoms

There are multiple symptoms of clogged arteries. Here are some to watch out for:

• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Cold hands or feet
• Lower back pain
• Numbness or pain in your hands, legs, or feet
• Decreased pulse or no pulse (especially in feet)
• Hair loss
• Discolored skin

Plus, if you have a sore or ulcer that is not healing, this can be a symptom too.

Take Care of Your Heart

Too often people will take their health for granted and live in the now. Think about the future so you can enjoy today and tomorrow! Healthy habits in eating and lifestyle will take you a long way in life.

Adding a few foods to unclog arteries is a small ask that will make a big impact. Taking care of your arteries will keep your heart strong.

For more informative articles like this one that are about health, sports, lifestyle, and more, visit us again soon. We want you to be healthy, and we know that you want to enjoy life, so until next time, eat your broccoli.