30 Best Foods to Help Unclog Arteries (and What to Avoid)

38. Ice Cream

Ice cream is high in sugar, calories, and saturated fat, so save it for a special treat. Eating foods loaded with fat and sugar leads to weight gain. It can also drive up your triglycerides and lead to a heart attack. Cut your calories and fat by choosing sorbet, low-fat or nonfat frozen yogurt, or frozen fruit bars.

Check the label for the least amount of sugar and saturated fat. Ice cream often contains high levels of cholesterol. Half a cup of vanilla ice cream contains over 4 grams of saturated fats. This is more than a quarter of what adults should have in a day, and richer flavors can have even more.

39. Fried foods

In general, fried foods are bad for your health because the frying process creates trans fats. A 4 ounce serving of fried chicken can have as much cholesterol as 11 strips of bacon. By contrast, a grilled chicken breast can be a good source of protein in a weight-loss diet. Over time, high amounts of salt, sugar, saturated fat, and refined carbs raise your risk for a heart attack or stroke.

If you’re worried about your heart, you’ll want to keep these out of regular rotation. But rather than fixate on any one bad food, it’s wise to focus on your overall diet. You can still have these things if you mostly eat heart-healthy fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. Things like Deep-frying chicken adds calories, fat, and sodium to otherwise healthy food. Studies have linked fried food with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure — all of which raise your odds of heart failure. For a crispy but healthier choice, bread skinless chicken breasts in whole-wheat flour and bake instead of frying.

40. Soda

One study claimed that regularly drinking soda that was sweetened with sugar can increase the risk of heart disease. Even diet soda isn’t that much better. Other research claims that people who regularly consume artificially sweetened soda were at a greater risk for stroke and heart disease. An astounding 184,000 adult deaths worldwide each year are linked to the consumption of sugary drinks, according to research published conducted at Tufts University and published in the journal Circulation.

This includes 133,000 deaths from diabetes and 45,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease. Harvard researchers, who have been studying more than 40,000 physicians and 88,000 nurses for more than two decades, found that women who consumed more than two servings of a sugary beverage a day were 40 percent more likely to develop heart disease than women who drank fewer. Men who drank the most sodas were 20 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who drank the least.

Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

https://medical-news.org/30-best-foods-that-help-unclog-
https://www.thehealthy.com/heart-disease/best-foods-to-eat-clogged-arteries/
https://www.readersdigest.ca/health/conditions/best-foods-eat-avoid-clogged-arteries/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/foods-that-could-help-unclog-your-arteries/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/heart-healthy-foods
https://brightside.me/inspiration-health/
https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/10/04/researchers-suggest-way-to-possibly-eliminate-artery-clogging-condition
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/chol_tlc.pdf