Our hearts work hard every day to keep us going strong! But did you know that the food we eat plays a big role in keeping our hearts healthy? That’s right! By choosing the right kinds of foods, like those with fiber, we can help our hearts stay strong and happy. 

Understanding Heart Health: 

The heart serves as the central pump of the circulatory system, tirelessly circulating oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. This vital organ powers every function, from breathing to movement, making its health paramount to overall vitality.  

Heart disease encompasses a range of conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, including coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Various factors contribute to the development of heart disease, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, smoking, stress, diabetes, and not getting enough movement. Luckily, we can help our hearts by eating the right foods. 

The Role of Nutrition: 

Eating good food is super important for our hearts. Foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean meats are like special tools that help our hearts stay strong and healthy. At Tapestry 360 Health, your health and wellness are our number one priority. We offer cooking and nutrition classes available to our patients and those in the community.

Amanda Montgomery, a Registered Dietitian and the Senior Manager of Wellness at Tapestry 360 Health, hosts a “Healthy Cooking with Amanda,” class once a month at the Scheider Apartments, a CHA building in Edgewater. This class is in partnership with our community partner Swedish Hospital. Each month, the group celebrates the diversity of our neighbors through food! Amanda leads participants through a cooking demonstration, conversations about healthy nutrition and ends the class by tasting what we made together. 

Tapestry 360 Health offers cooking and nutrition classes for patients in both English and Spanish. Typically spanning 6-8 weeks, classes cover topics such as label reading, and basics on the role of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, salt, and sugar in the body. Nutrition information is paired with either a cooking demo or a hands-on cooking class for patients to practice applying information and share a community meal together!  

Other related classes:  

• Diabetes nutrition classes: understanding how foods can impact our blood sugar and help keep it stable  
• Cooking and Nutrition for Joy: helping us tune in to our own needs, reduce shame, and center joy in cooking, eating, and our bodies.  

Discovering Fiber: 

High-fiber foods are the best way to reduce high blood pressure and inflammation and can be found in foods like oats, fruits, and veggies. It helps lower the bad stuff in our bodies, like cholesterol, which can keep our hearts safe from getting sick. 

Adding Fiber to Your Diet: 

It’s easy to add fiber to your meals! Try starting your day with oatmeal and fruit, or snack on crunchy veggies with dip. Eating whole-grain foods, such as whole wheat bread and brown rice also gives your heart the fiber it needs to stay healthy. Beans are a great source of fiber, protein and many vitamins and minerals to keep your heart, blood vessels and the rest of your body healthy!  

Here is an easy White Bean Chili recipe that you can recreate at home: 

Creamy White Bean Chili

Taking Care of Your Heart: 

Besides eating good foods, there are other things we can do to help our hearts, like being active, sleeping well, and finding ways to relax. When we take care of our hearts, we’re taking care of ourselves!  

If you have questions about heart health, schedule an appointment with your primary care provider today.