Share These Tips With Shoppers for a Healthy Heart

February is all about our heart! Find out SupermarketGuru's top healthy heart tips here.

February is all about our heart! Since 1963 Congress has required the president to proclaim February as “American Heart Month,” a time when we recognize that heart disease is our nation’s number one killer - and also a time when we recognize the contributing factors and try to eliminate as many in our lives as possible!

Now let’s remind ourselves here, heart disease is largely preventable, through a healthy lifestyle including a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as staying active and maintaining meaningful relationships. 

SupermarketGuru’s healthy heart tips to share with shoppers: 

Encourage your shoppers to create a shopping list. Having a list ahead of time not only allows you to make meal plans for the days ahead but also helps focus grocery trips. With a list, shoppers can expect saving of around 20 to 25 percent and they wont be tempted by heart unfriendly foods not on your list!

So what should the list include for heart health? 

Heart healthy antioxidant rich foods include: tomatoes, oily fish (such as salmon and sardines), green tea, carrots, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, alfalfa sprouts, cocoa (dark chocolate), berries, apples, and whole-grains. Studies have shown that those who ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day had a 39 percent lower risk of stroke than those who did not.

Blue and purple produce like eggplant, plums, red cabbage and grapes are rich in anthocyanidins which help lower risk of heart attack and stroke by dilating blood vessels and protecting vessel walls - keeping the blood flowing freely.

Included on the list should be foods rich in essential fatty acids like nuts (unsalted), olive oil, hemp seeds, flaxseeds, avocados, salmon, chia seeds, trout, sardines, herring, and mackerel. Not only are these foods anti-inflammatory, great for the immune system, brain and more, but they are delicious too! 

Garlic and onions are also important for heart health as they contain compounds that can help reduce cholesterol levels.

Drinking water and staying active is also great for your heart. Create an endcap with reusable water bottles and suggest shoppers refill with filtered water -so they can have water on the go, remain hydrated, and save money.

Making conscious choices when shopping or eating out can go a long way. Help out your heart with SupermarketGuru’s shopping tips. And as always, please suggest shoppers consult their physicians before making any changes.