Be Good to Your Heart

Do your breakfast habits include yogurt or cold cereal? If so, you're giving your heart a treat. Regular consumption of yogurt and cold breakfast cereals was associated with reduced homocysteine levels. Keeping homocysteine levels in check may help reduce cardiovascular disease risk. A recent study determined that frequent consumption of milk (more than 30 times per month), yogurt (more than 15 times per month), and cold breakfast cereal (more than 30 times per month) reduced homocysteine levels by approximately 6 percent to 15 percent. Researchers credit the folate and riboflavin in these foods for their homocysteine-lowering benefits. The study determined that bell peppers and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts had the same effect as the breakfast foods.