Six Foods That Could Save Your Life

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Consider this the next time you go grocery shopping: What you toss in your cart could save you from heart disease.

Talk about clearing up confusion about what it truly means to eat healthy: Researchers at the University of Liverpool found that legislative and education programs that promote healthy eating could cut the global death rate for cardiovascular disease (CVD) by up to 50 percent.

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What’s more, researchers posit that increasing consumption of six foods in particular could potentially result in 9.2 million fewer CVD-related deaths: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts (in place of starch), vegetable oils (in place of animal fats) and fish and seafood. Researchers also estimate that educating the public on limiting intake of salt and trans fats could save another 2.6 million lives.

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While these programs would need to be more extensive than even a heavy sprinkling of educational pamphlets—we’re talking solutions like long-term government agriculture strategies, stricter guidelines on food marketing and labeling as well as an overall increase in the availability of healthy food—to produce a global effect of this magnitude, vowing to add these six foods to your own diet can do a world of good for both your inner and outer self:

Fruits and Vegetables: Not only are antioxidant and fiber-rich fruits and vegetables healthy heart all-stars, but certain vitamins, such as vitamin C, can also help fight aging by increasing collagen production, resulting in firmer, younger-looking skin.

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Whole Grains: Eating whole grain foods, such as oatmeal, whole wheat pasta and high-fiber cereal, may not only help regulate blood pressure and preserve heart health, but may also help you lose weight and maintain weight loss over time, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study.