Studies show your diet plays an important role in keeping a healthy cardiovascular system. Eating a lot of fruit and vegetables, having a low-fat diet and eating fish two or three times a week can do wonders for your health and help you maintain a strong heart for a long time. Senior citizens should especially take care of their diet and include foods that help keep a healthy heart, as heart disease rates increase with age.

Heart-Friendly Food
A recipe that includes the benefits of both fish and of fruit focuses on salmon with mango and peach salsa. You will need three ounces of salmon and two tablespoons of salsa for each serving. For the salsa, have ready one mango fruit; two or three pealed peaches; one red onion; one jalapeno pepper and one-half teaspoon of jalapeno juice; one-half teaspoon of ground cumin; some fresh parsley and some fresh lime juice. Chop the mango, peaches and onion, and then mix all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl. Add one-half teaspoon of ground cumin to the lime juice. When you have prepared the salsa, wash the salmon fillets and remove the extra water with paper towels. Add salt and pepper and grill the fish in vegetable oil. You should keep the salmon on the grill for a few minutes on each side until it turns brown and looks cooked. If you’re not sure it’s cooked, stick a fork in the fish to see if it looks done at its core. When the fish cooks thoroughly, place it on a plate and place the salsa directly on the salmon or on the side. One serving has 304 calories, 96 milligrams of cholesterol, 222 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of sugar and 31 grams of protein.

Your Weight
Maintaining body weight under control proves an essential part of maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system, especially for senior citizens. If you’re trying to lose weight, you likely try to keep sugar levels low as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean you cannot enjoy a desert that’s both delicious and good for the heart. Make the pear and cherry crumble, a desert based on fruit, part of your daily diet. It takes only one-half hour to prepare, and you will need five fresh pears; a handful of dried cherries; the juice from a lemon; one cup of pear or apple juice; two teaspoons of honey; one teaspoon each of both almond and vanilla extract; and a bit of cinnamon. Spray a cooking dish with cooking spray and heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill half of a large bowl with water and the juice from a lemon. Cut the pears and place them in the bowl. Use a colander to drain the pears pieces and put them back in the bowl. Add the other ingredients to the mix, putting one spoon of flour on top before stirring well. Let the mix settle for a few minutes and then put it in the baking dish. Prepare a topping from granola, flour, almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix everything together and place the topping over the pears. Place the cooking dish in the preheated oven and let it bake for one-half hour or until the top gets a golden brown color.

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