fighting heart disease with diamonds
We had quite the scare a few weeks ago when Matt’s dad suffered a heart attack. Luckily, they caught it early and were able to stop it in the process. It’s still unknown whether or not it was due to plaque buildup in his arteries or as a side effect from a bad reaction he had to a chemo treatment a few days earlier. However, it was enough to make Matt + I take a look at our lifestyle and see where we might need to make some changes.
Cardiovascular disease (AKA heart disease) is the number one leading cause of death in the United States (source). While genetics play a factor in your risk for the disease, you can help fend off or even prevent heart disease through healthy lifestyle choices. By being physically active and choosing heart healthy food over junk food, you are taking steps toward preventing this deadly disease.
Matt + I are generally healthy individuals: we are both physically active and eat a plant-based, healthy diet. However, when it comes to snacking, we both suffer in our choices. Matt’s go-to for snacks are typically tortilla chips or candy, while I crave chocolate and cookies (oh, and frozen custard). Not the best choices in an attempt to prevent heart disease. So, now I’m looking for heart-healthy snack options while in the grocery store.
Thankfully, the folks at Blue Diamond are making it easy for us to make heart-healthy choices when it comes to our daily snacking. The American Heart Association recently certified a variety of Blue Diamond Almonds as heart-healthy food. Now, when you see Blue Diamond Almonds on a shelf in the grocery store, you will see a Heart-Check mark, letting you know that you are choosing a food that can help you prevent heart disease.
I absolutely LOVE Blue Diamond Almonds! Not only are they a quick and (heart-) healthy snack, they also provide a great source of vegetarian protein. Plus, Blue Diamond Almonds are some of the most reasonably priced nuts I can find in the grocery store – a win-win situation, if you ask me! While some of my favorites are their almond milk and honey roasted almonds, I am now reaching for their Whole Natural and Sea Salt variety almonds as my snack of choice for their heart-healthy properties. (Other Heart-Check certified include their Roasted Salted, Low Sodium, No Salt, and Honey Dijon.)
Want to learn more about how Blue Diamond Almonds can help you prevent heart disease? Join me on Monday, May 21 at 8 PM CST for a Twitter Chat using the hashtag #BlueDiamond. It should be an awesome time tweeting about all things heart-healthy. I know I’ll be there, snacking on some Blue Diamond Almonds in the process!
What steps are you taking to prevent heart disease?
***FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All opinions are my own.***