5 Healthy Drinks for Your Heart That Lower Cholesterol, Blood Sugar and More
Plus see which sips you should scale back on, and which are okay in moderation
What if a simple sip could slash “bad” LDL cholesterol, lower high blood pressure and help reduce your risk of heart disease? It can! Keep reading for a leading dietitian’s list of the best drinks for heart health—and a few on her naughty list you might want to limit.
5 of the best healthy drinks for your heart
You’ve heard “you are what you eat.” Well, the same might be said of what we drink. Here, dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDCES, CPT, author of 2-Day Diabetes Diet: Diet Just 2 Days a Week and Dodge Type 2 Diabetes, shares her top five heart-smart sips that deliver big health benefits.
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Orange juice
Great news: A staple of many morning routines is also packed with heart-healthy nutrients. “Research suggests that orange juice may support heart health thanks to flavonoids, vitamin C and potassium, which help reduce inflammation and improve lipid metabolism,” says Palinski-Wade.
In fact, a recent study in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research found that drinking 8 to 17 ounces of 100 percent orange juice (without added sugar) daily may help support these benefits.
Worried orange juice might spike your blood sugar? Don’t be. “Studies have found that 100 percent orange juice has a neutral impact on blood sugar when about 4 to 5 oz. are consumed with meals, which may help delay glucose absorption,” reveals Palinski-Wade.
And since orange juice’s higher acidity may trigger symptoms in those with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), she suggests pairing it with high-protein foods or diluting it slightly with water to help offset the acidity.
Beet juice
“The nitrates found naturally in beet juice can help dilate blood vessels, reducing blood pressure,” explains Palinski-Wade.
Proof of beets’ power: A study in Frontiers in Nutrition revealed that people who drank about ⅓ to 1 cup of beetroot juice daily for three to 60 days saw a significant drop in blood pressure.
Tomato juice
“Lower-sodium versions of 100 percent tomato juice may help lower blood pressure and ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels,” notes Palinski-Wade.
Research backs her up: A British Journal of Nutrition study showed that people on a tomato-rich diet—including about 13 to 14 oz. of tomato juice (and ketchup!) daily—experienced an almost 13 percent drop in LDL levels over three weeks compared to when they were on a diet low in tomatoes.
Green tea
You’ve heard experts sing the praises of green tea for years, and for good reason. “It contains anti-inflammatory compounds, thanks to its high antioxidant content, which help support the health of blood vessels throughout the body,” confirms Palinski-Wade.
She adds that in a study published in Clinical Medicine Insights: Cardiology, participants who drank 7 cups of green tea daily experienced a dramatic reduction in “bad” LDL cholesterol. The very welcome results: a decreased risk of both coronary artery disease and heart attacks.
Hibiscus tea
Just in case green tea isn’t your cuppa of choice, consider hibiscus tea. A study in The Journal of Nutrition revealed that its flavonoids and polyphenols help relax blood vessels, slash blood pressure and reduce that villain of heart health you’re all too familiar with by now: LDL.
Participants in the study with mild hypertension (high blood pressure) who drank about 8 oz. of hibiscus tea for six weeks enjoyed a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure.
Drinks to scale back on for better heart health
To reduce heart disease risk and protect your ticker, you might want to rethink these three types of drinks:
Sugary drinks
“In general, sugar-sweetened beverages aren’t beneficial for heart health, as they contribute to excessive added sugar intake throughout the day,” Palinski-Wade points out.
“Consuming more than 10 percent of daily calories from added sugar can raise triglyceride and blood sugar levels while lowering beneficial HDL cholesterol.”
Energy drinks
Are energy drinks actually bad for your heart? In short, yes. These popular but unhealthy beverages are “doubly damaging because of their high sugar content and excess caffeine,” she says.
“Too much caffeine can raise blood pressure and, at very high levels, may even trigger heart palpitations, increased platelet aggregation [sticky platelets that can clump and block arteries] and added strain on the heart.”
Too much caffeinated coffee
For the reasons she notes above, Palinski-Wade recommends limiting caffeine intake to 300 mg or less per day, ideally spacing it out over the course of the day.
That said, moderate coffee consumption has been linked to better heart health. A study in Circulation found that people who drank three to four cups of coffee per day had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with non-coffee drinkers
Credit for the heart-healthy effects largely goes to coffee’s anti-inflammatory compounds. So there’s no need to dump your daily cuppa—just enjoy it in moderation.
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