Heart-healthy Ingredients and How to Use Them

Diet and a healthy heart. Simple changes make all the difference.

Diet plays a huge role in a healthy heart so it is important to be eating the right foods and drinking the right drinks. With world heart day coming up we’re shining a light on foods that are good for the heart - and food that contribute to poor heart health.

Goats cheese, beetroot and walnut pizza

Heart-healthy food groups and ingredients

At the top level, you want to be eating the best food for you heart, these include foods that reduce the risk of heart disease, help to reduce “nasty” LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol or boost HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. These all come from a healthy, balanced diet which includes wholegrains, plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean protein sources - and avoids saturated or trans fat, and an abundance of sugar.

Here is a heart-healthy food and ingredient list to keep your ticker strong and healthy.

Plenty of leafy greens: Leafy greens contain loads of vitamin K and nitrates. These not only help protect your arteries through the promotion of proper blood clotting, studies have shown that they also help to reduce blood pressure too. Spinach, Chinese cabbage, rocket.

Fibre: Fibre is a crucial macro-nutrient in the fight against heart disease - these are best found in wholegrains, but high fibre foods like our original Lo-Dough bases are a great source of fibre compared to regular white bread for example. Grains that are high in fibre help to reduce LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Salmon and mackerel wraps in hand

“Good” fats: eating too much saturated and trans fats in your diet can increase bad cholesterol in the blood and increase the risk of coronary heart disease. But not all fats are created equal! A diet consisting of a healthy level of monounsaturated fats (from avocado, almonds) and omega-3 fatty acids (from fatty fish and seeds) has shown to have extensive heart benefits, helping to reduce LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, and improve arteriole function.

Blueberry cheesecake in a glass

Antioxidants: this word has almost become a cliché, along with superfoods, but they have brilliant heart benefits. Antioxidants can be found in berries and dark chocolate (chocolate, yay!) and have been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease - as well as providing a relatively low calorie sweet snack.

With Lo-Dough, foods that would normally be deemed bad for the heart can be put back on the menu. Our bases are fat free and fibre-rich, compared to regular pizza bases which are filled with high levels of saturated fats. This means you can enjoy pizza which doesn’t negatively impact your heart health and taste great! Here are some of our favourite heart-healthy recipes we think you’ll love:

Artichoke and Spinach Pizza with pizza cutter