Top healthy diets to boost heart health

Low-calorie diets are passe as health enthusiasts embrace holistic diet patterns that nourish their bodies, mind, and soul. Depriving yourself from adequate calories and nutrients, invariably backfires in the longer run, making one nutrient-deficient and with lesser immunity to fight diseases. Including the right foods and eating at the right time is the mantra for new-age weight loss enthusiasts. In modern times, eating for a healthy heart can translate into long-term benefits.

Here are top diets for your heart health :

Mediterranean diet
The eating pattern that emerged somewhere in the mid-20th century, in the Mediterranean countries has caught the fancy of wellness enthusiasts, and has even been approved by scientists who have linked this healthy eating pattern to reduced risk of coronary artery disease and lesser risk of heart diseases. A Mediterranean diet is an eclectic mix of fresh fruits, vegetables, lentils, nuts, whole wheat, brown rice, extra virgin olive oil, fish, little or no red meat. If you are able to stick to this diet, you will not only lose weight, but also reduce risk of heart disease and stroke, and reduce risk of diabetes. A study published in Neurology confirms this diet's benefits for memory enhancement and improved brain functions.

Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you eat during a specific time frame and refrain from food in the other. It works by giving your body time to burn extra calories consumed during the last meal where it also begins the process of burning fat. It may take some two-four weeks before you get used to this eating pattern. As per New England Journal of Medicine, over a period of time, the eating style offers a range of benefits, from longer life, a leaner body and a sharper mind. Considering it curbs obesity, one can prevent type 2 diabetes, heart disease and several neurodegenerative disorders.

Atlantic diet
A close cousin to Mediterranean style of eating, Atlantic Diet is inspired by traditional eating habits of people from northwestern Spain and Portugal. The prime focus of this diet is on unprocessed foods, vegetables and fruits, nuts, whole grain bread, fish, dairy, eggs, olive oil and some red meat and wine. While the Mediterranean diet focuses more on healthy fat from extra-virgin olive oil, the Atlantic diet has foods like fatty fish - mackerel, sardines and salmon. As per a JAMA study, six months of an Atlantic diet can decrease risk of obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, triglyceride or cholesterol levels, cutting risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that the Southern European Atlantic Diet lowered all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer death.

DASH diet One of the best diets to embrace for heart health, the DASH diet can reduce major risk factors for heart disease. Being rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium, it helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It can thus reduce the risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. In this eating pattern, one is recommended to eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, include fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils, while limited foods high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, and coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils.