Before we get into that, let’s take a brief look at why the typical American diet is bad for us. Fast food places are not renowned for their nutritional value. While that burger and fries makes a quick, convenient and tasty meal, it’s also heavy on salt and sugar and fats of the wrong kind, e.g. trans, partially hydrogenated and saturated fats. Processed and highly refined foods contain loads of additives you can’t even pronounce and worse yet, don’t know what they do to your body, once consumed. Prepared foods are fast, but for purposes of consumer taste bud appeal, generally contain plenty of salt and sugar. All of these factors contribute to heart disease. So, it’s a no-brainer. A heart healthy diet is good!

You may well say, “I don’t have time to spend hours over the stove!” The truth is, there are so many foods you can prepare in minutes, or spend 5 minutes preparing and just put in the oven for an hour and then serve. The slow cooker is another device that makes an entire meal, ready to serve when you walk in the door tonight.

For example, cold water fish, such as salmon, bass and halibut require nothing more than putting on a plate in the microwave and about 3-5 minutes cooking time. These fish are low in fat and calories, but high in the Omega-3 fatty acids, which should be a staple in your heart healthy diet plan. A whole chicken can be baked in the oven in an hour, with little fat remaining and plenty of protein. A boneless chicken breast can be cut in slices, marinated in olive oil and seasonings and sauteed in minutes. How about the slow cooker? Put a chicken on top of a heap of chopped veggies and walk away. Ready to eat when you get home. Do the same with a pork loin roast. A roast of Angus beef, with no hormones, antibiotics, additives and all of those other bad things, cooks to delicious and tender perfection in the slow cooker.

So, you say, “What about the rest of the meal?” Frozen veggies require almost zero effort, cook in minutes and contain those most valuable nutrients and enzymes necessary to a heart healthy diet program. Antioxidants galore, trace minerals, lots of fiber and no fat. What more could your heart desire? A salad, made of your choice of fresh greens and other veggies, can be made and eaten while that chicken is baking.

Whole grains are an important component of the heart healthy diet. Instead of plain white bread, start including some whole grain breads. These breads contain important, otherwise hard to get nutrients, which are stripped out of the refined white flour. Brown and wild rice are healthier than white. Use pasta made with Durum wheat for a healthier meal.

As for cooking oil, olive oil has no cholesterol. Many studies have concluded that olive oil is a major reason that people on a Mediterranean diet have very low rates of heart disease.

Try to frequently include fruit as the dessert on your menu. Wash and eat!

So, it’s easy to see that heart healthy diets of food you prepare need not take any more of your time than required to drive by the fast food place or nuke a prepared meal. Besides, in addition to a heart healthy menu, you’re saving gas. Who can argue with that kind of incentive? To your good health!

Top Antioxidant Foods

Of all the different antioxidant food that there is out there, there are a few antioxidant food choices in particular that are going to be worth eating more of. One of the foods with the highest level of antioxidants is dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate is produced by the cocoa bean, which is known to be packed full of antioxidants. Hot tea was thought to contain the largest amount of antioxidants but it was recently proven that this was in fact not true and instead dark chocolate does.

Dark chocolate, like red wine, is said to be able to protect against heart disease, and overall reduce the amounts of free radicals in your body.

Another high antioxidant food is fruit. Berries, actually, are all chalk full of antioxidants. Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are all full of these antioxidants, and are going to offer you optimum health benefits. They are also available year round, which makes it easier for you to work them into your diet.

The benefits of this antioxidant food are truly plentiful. They give you anti aging protection against degenerative diseases and help to slow the aging process of your skin, cells, tissues and organs.

If you are confused on this topic you should speak to a nutritionist. They are trained professionals in this area and will be able to offer you a ton of valuable advice and information on this matter.

Antioxidants are able to provide stronger immune resistance to flues, viruses, and infections, greatly reduced incidence of all cancers, prevention of glaucoma and macular degeneration, reduced risk of cholesterol-oxidation and heart disease, and anti aging of the cells in the body. They work by fighting damaging free radicals in the body and this is important because free radical oxidation damage is the primary cause of aging and is as harmful and destructive to your body as rust is to your car.