Best Vegetables for Your Heart

Promote healthy arteries and prevent plaque buildup by eating these delicious foods

By focusing on vegetables, and more variety of vegetables, you can eat your way to heart health.RossHelen/Shutterstock

Research has shown that the more vegetables you eat, the lower your risk of heart disease, with different types of vegetables protecting your heart through different mechanisms.

Leafy greens, for example, have high amounts of nitrates that naturally boost your nitric oxide (NO) level. Cruciferous veggies, on the other hand, lower your risk of stroke and heart attack by promoting more supple neck arteries and preventing the buildup of arterial plaque.