6 Ways to Get Heart-Healthy Vitamins Without Taking Supplements

Vitamin supplements are extremely popular in the United States. But if you’re taking them for your heart health, a new study shows that you may be wasting a whole lot of your hard-earned cash.

The July 2018 study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes confirmed previous research that taking supplements does little or nothing to reduce the risk of heart disease. The research team reviewed 18 scientific studies published between 1970 and 2016, which collectively covered more than 2 million people tracked for about 18 years.

“We found no clinical benefit of multivitamin and mineral use to prevent heart attacks, strokes or cardiovascular death,” said lead author Joonseok Kim, MD, in a statement to NBC News. “I hope our study findings help decrease the hype around multivitamin and mineral supplements and encourage people to use proven methods to reduce their risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising, and avoiding tobacco.”

6 Easy Ways to Get Your Heart-Healthy Vitamins Through Diet

The good news is that there are several ways to reduce your risk of heart disease every day, and many of them involve making healthy choices with the foods you eat. Here are a few great options recommended by experts at the Cleveland Clinic:

1. Indulge in fatty fish that are high in vitamin D and omega-3s, such as tuna and salmon.
2. Enjoy a handful of healthy, filling nuts like walnuts or almonds.
3. Pick red, yellow, and orange vegetables, such as carrots and red peppers, since they tend to be chock-full of heart-healthy vitamins as well as fiber.
4. Delight in dark beans, such as kidney beans or black beans, to reap the benefits of vitamin B, fiber, and other valuable minerals.
5. Eat crisp and fresh broccoli with some hummus to add more vitamin C and E to your daily diet, as well as a whole host of other nutrients.
6. Treat yourself with the occasional dark chocolate (with at least 70 percent cocoa) or glass of red wine. Your heart — and you — will be so happy!

Next, learn about more superfoods that can help you live longer in the video below:

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