These days we know that heart disease is mainly due to inflammation and not raised cholesterol levels. Inflammation can occur for many reasons including stress and injury. In many cases however inflammation is due to excess body fat. But losing weight and excess body fat won’t happen overnight, so healthy foods for the heart are very useful in helping to support your health while you decrease your weight.
Because of the increased risk of heart attack it is important to get inflammation under control ASAP and this can be done with diet. There are many types of food to eat for a healthy heart – turmeric is a good one. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial. It speeds up metabolism, helps stabilize blood sugar and has many other positive effects upon the symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome –the precursor to diabetes and heart disease.
Although generally used in hot dishes, turmeric can be drunk as a tasty, spicy tea.
Healthy Heart Turmeric Tea
1 teaspoon of turmeric 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg Pinch of clove
Xylitol or stevia to sweeten Coconut milk or cream
Add the spices to a pot. Boil about 2 cups of water and pour over the spices. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Steeping the tea increases the availability of the beneficial spices.
Pour into a cup and add either cream or coconut milk to taste. If you prefer a sweeter drink add a little stevia or xylitol.
Drink daily to reduce any inflammation in the body.
