If you want to have the healthiest breakfast possible and take care of your heart health from first thing in the morning, you are in the good place. And there's one breakfast that stands out from the rest according to cardiologists: avocado toast with a side of fruit.
These modern toasts live up to the hype and have a number of benefits to keep your heart strong. And when you combine it with fruits like berries or bananas, you get even more benefits for your heart.
Benefits of having avocado toast for breakfast
Contains heart-healthy vitamins and minerals
From whole wheat bread and avocado to berries and bananas, each ingredient in this breakfast combo provides a host of vitamins and minerals your body needs for a strong heart.
Whole grains contain B vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin , which are essential for a healthy metabolism and nervous system, while another B vitamin, folate , plays a key role in the formation of red blood cells. Whole grains are also rich in iron , which carries oxygen to the blood.
And the benefits of eating whole grains add up to great long-term health benefits: A March 2015 study in BMC Medicine found that regular consumers of whole grains had a 17 percent lower risk of death from all causes , including heart disease, compared to people who ate the fewest whole grains.
If you are looking for a truly heart-healthy fruit, choose a banana . Bananas are full of potassium, which improves vascular and endothelial function and lowers blood pressure.
In fact, diets high in potassium are associated with lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of stroke , coronary heart disease, heart attack, and other cardiovascular events, according to an August 2011 study in Current Hypertension Reports.
It's loaded with fiber
Fruits and whole grains are full of fiber, which not only stabilizes your blood sugar and keeps you full, but can also help lower blood cholesterol levels and your chance of developing heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Avocados stand out from other fruits and vegetables thanks to their high amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber, according to a May 2016 study in Nutrients.
Additionally, avocados have fewer phytates and oxalates (compounds known as "antinutrients" because they can interfere with the absorption of important minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium) than other sources of fiber.
It is abundant in antioxidants
Fruit is a fantastic source of antioxidants or chemicals that fight free radicals that can damage cells and genetic material. Antioxidants can be especially important in supporting heart health.
Free radical damage can make LDL (bad) cholesterol molecules more likely to clog the wall of an artery. And when cholesterol builds up in the arteries, it restricts blood flow and can eventually lead to atherosclerosis, heart attack, or stroke.
In particular, berries are packed with flavonoids, which are natural antioxidants and polyphenols that increase nitric oxide levels (improving vascular function) and neutralize free radicals and other 'bad guys' in the bloodstream while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol. ) and lower blood pressure.
The type and amount of nutrients vary by berry, so it is best to eat a mixture of them for breakfast.
Avocados also have powerful antioxidants in the form of vitamin E. Preliminary research suggests that a diet rich in antioxidant-rich fruits is linked to a lower instance of chronic oxidative stress , which is associated with health problems including cardiovascular disease.
Provides some Omega 3
Believe it or not, avocados are among the top ten foods highest in O mega-3 fatty acids , a type of polyunsaturated fat that is linked to a reduced risk of heart disease.
In fact, a February 2020 study in JAHA found that regular Omega-3 intake (either through fatty fish or supplements) was associated with lower triglycerides and is considered cardioprotective in women.
So for an even higher amount of polyunsaturated fat, top your avocado toast with a fatty fish like salmon, which is packed with Omega-3s. Fish for breakfast might sound strange, but smoked salmon on avocado toast is a total change.
