For Quick Alerts
Subscribe Now  
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Foods To Slow Down Pulse Rate

By Super

A sedentary lifestyle, rising stress levels, anxiety, lack of exercise and erratic food habits. These reasons are enough to compel our heart to trod the lazy path or increase it's function by making it hyperactive. An array of factors might contribute to a rise or increase in heart or pulse rate.

Some might also be attributed to vitamin deficiency and other medical factors. However Tachycardia, or an abnormally fast heart beat, is potentially dangerous. It can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, and may result in death. Here is a list of heart-healthy foods that you could include to keep a steady pulse rate and a happy heart.

Calcium-Rich Foods

Calcium-Rich Foods

Including 1,000 mg of calcium in your diet each day plays an important role in maintaining a normal heart beat. Yogurt, milk, cheese and other dairy products, molasses, tofu, fortified cereals, broccoli and cabbage are high in calcium and must be included in your diet to maintain a steady pulse rate.

Magnesium-Rich Foods

Magnesium-Rich Foods

Your body requires at least 270 to 400 mg of magnesium daily to maintain the regularity of your heart beat. Add magnesium-rich foods such as brazil nuts, almonds, wheat bran, flax seeds, oatmeal, dates, blackstrap molasses, pumpkin, squash seeds, and green leafy vegetables in your daily diet.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids which is necessary for a healthy heart and its circulation. Fish like sardines, albacore tuna, mackerel, oysters should be consumed as they are rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids. For vegetarians, nuts like walnuts, hemp seeds and flax seeds are a good option.

Potassium-Rich Foods

Potassium-Rich Foods

A diet incorporating potassium could make a difference to your heart health. Without this mineral, muscles such as your heart may not contract properly. Bananas, coconut water, citrus fruits, tomatoes, avocado, lima beans, soya beans, prunes, flounder and salmon are a treasure trove of potassium. So, have these foods to maintain a steady pulse rate.

Green Leafy Vegetables

Green Leafy Vegetables

A diet consisting of green leafy vegetables also contributes to a lower and normal pulse rate. Greens like spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, mint, french beans, peas, cabbage, lettuce and parsley are rich in iron and ensures a robust immune system too.

Fibrous Foods

Fibrous Foods

As the saying goes 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away', eating fruits that are rich in fiber is essential to drop a rapid pulse rate. Grapes, apples, dates, peaches, berries, apricots, kiwi and papaya are some of the fruits one can eat to have a healthy heart beat.

Olive Oil

Olive Oil

Using olive oil for cooking is a feasible option. It is rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids that may lower your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels further leading to a healthy pulse rate.

Green Tea

Green Tea

Some of the strongest evidence of tea's health benefits comes from studies of heart diseases. Scientists have found that those who drink 12 ounces or more of tea a day are about half as likely to have a heart attack as non-tea drinkers.

Wine

Wine

Drinking wine in moderation may protect the heart by raising good HDL cholesterol, decreasing inflammation and thinning the blood.

Whole Grains

Whole Grains

Whole grains contain anti-oxidants, phytoestrogens and phytosterols that are protective against coronary diseases which helps in keeping a steady pulse. By eating right with a proper fitness regime one can have a steady pulse rate.

Story first published: Saturday, March 16, 2013, 14:00 [IST]
Read more about: heart healthy diet foods