We each have our own health issues, based on diet, genetics, and environment.
We cannot control genetics or environment (well, I suppose you could move to a remote island to avoid most of the environmental pollution, but not all), but we can control our diet, and should base it on our individual needs.
If you have a history of heart problems in your family you should be taking care with your diet to give yourself the maximum fighting chance against heart problems.
Here are the basics that you should be aware of when planning your meals.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found in salmon, tuna, flax seeds, oatmeal, black or kidney beans, and you can get alpha-linolenic fatty acids (essentially plant based omega-3) in almonds and walnuts.
It helps increase HDLs (the good version of cholesterol), lowers triglyceride levels, and helps remove plaque from arteries (thus lowering blood pressure).
It is an anti-inflammatory, reduces blood clots, and will help power up your immune system.
It helps reduce the risk of heart attack significantly.
Carotenoids These powerful anti-oxidants can be found in many fruits and vegetables, and include alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene (The Four Horsemen of Anti-Oxidation).
Alpha-carotene is found in pumpkins and other squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, as well as green vegetables such as green peas, broccoli, green beans, and spinach.
Research has shown that the higher the level of alpha-carotene in your blood stream, the lower your risk of death due to any causes (other than accidents of course), including cancers and cardiovascular disease.
Beta-carotene is found in carrots, sweet potatoes, winter or butternut squash, kale, spinach, sweet red peppers, peas, broccoli, apricots, dandelion leaves, and cantaloupe.
In and of itself beta-carotene is not that important, but the body converts it into vitamin A, and only as much as the body requires.
Too much vitamin A is toxic to the body.
People who use vitamin supplements to get their vitamins risk Hypervitaminosis A, which can affect your bone metabolism.
There are links between reduced heart disease and levels of beta-carotene.
Lutein also provides the artery-clogging prevention that lycopene does, but to a lesser extent.
Studies indicate that it is particularly useful in reducing clogs in the carotid artery.
Lutein can be found in mangoes, corn, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, tomatoes and dark, leafy greens.
Lycopene is probably the most powerful of the anti-oxidants, and is found in tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya, pink guava, rosehip and goji berries.
It helps maintain strong cell membranes, which are the protectors of our cells.
They screen what goes in and out of cells, so the importance of lycopene cannot be overstated.
In terms of heart protection, lycopene helps prevent LDLs (the bad form of cholesterol) from being oxidized by free radicals (environmental factors that harm our cells, and are linked to cancer), which in turn prevents arteries from becoming clogged.
Phytosterols Phytosterols can be found in lettuce, capers, pickles, cucumbers, sesame seeds, asparagus, vegetable oil, cloves, sage, oregano, paprika, thyme, okra, cauliflower, lemon peels, bamboo shoots, brussel sprouts, beets, grapefruit, tomatoes, oranges, green peppers, cabbage, radishes, and pumpkin.
Phytosterols are plant-based compounds that help prevent the absorption of cholesterol (they actually compete for the same space, essentially), so your overall cholesterol levels are lowered, and this helps to prevent heart disease, strokes, and heart attack.
They also have anti-oxidant properties, which help prevent cancers.