Juicing vegetables is a superb way to get heart healthy nutrients. Which vegetables are best for fighting heart disease? Researchers has shown these 3 vegetables have wonderful benefits for your heart and arteries.

SPINACH

Spinach contains vitamin C and vitamin A (beta-carotene). These are two important antioxidants that disarm free radicals that can attack artery walls. Vitamin C is a water soluble nutrient and beta-carotene is fat soluble. Together they provide a powerful combination that can prevent cholesterol from oxidation. When oxidized, cholesterol becomes sticky and can attach itself to artery walls, leading to blocked arteries. This can cause heart attacks and strokes.

Two minerals found abundantly in spinach are potassium and magnesium. Both these minerals are vital for your heart to beat properly and have been shown to help bring down blood pressure levels. If potassium levels fall too low in the body, a heart attack can result.

Spinach also contains the nutrient folic acid (folate). Folic acid is needed to lower the blood levels of a chemical called homocysteine. High blood levels of homocysteine is a powerful factor for the development of heart disease. If the homocysteine levels in the blood increase too much, it can cause heart desease. Folic Acid’s job is to change homocysteine into harmless molecules.

Juicer recipes idea: A lot of spinach is required to make enough juice that you can drink. About 6 cups will get you what you need. Also, spinach juice doesn’t taste so great, adding an apple to the juice makes it easier to drink.

BROCCOLI

Just like its fellow vegetable spinach, broccoli is high in both vitamins C and A and therefore has all the benefits for the heart as explained for spinach.

In addition to this, broccoli is also abundant in vitamins A and C, which carries the heart health benefits described above for spinach.

Juicer recipes idea: Be sure to juice the stalks as well as the flower heads to get more juice out of this vegetable. This will also increase the variety of nutrition in the juice.

TOMATOES

Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable? Well it is heart healthy enough to make it to this list, so I will leave the answer at that. Tomatoes contain a plant chemical called lycopene which is responsible for its vibrant red color. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant which protects the tomato from the harmful effects of heat and light from the sun. Lycopene is equally powerful at protecting our arteries from cellular damage. In a recent study from Harvard women taking lycopene were 50% less likely to develop heart disease over a five year period. Furthermore, lycopene is considered to have beneficial effects on blood pressure.

Juicer recipes idea: You can use the left over pulp from your tomato juice to make soups or salsa.

Darren Haynes loves writing about health topices and especially about food and its healing properties. Check out my juicer recipes blog benefits of juicing

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