The first step to preventing heart disease? Know the risks. The
second step? Avoid or reduce those risks. A heart-healthy diet
and plenty of exercise is your first line of defense. And when
it comes to nutrition in particular, you can do more than avoid
foods high in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol—you
can eat foods that help lower blood pressure, reduce artery-
damaging inflammation, and keep your cholesterol in the heart-
healthy range. Here are seven tasty foods. Here are seven tasty
foods you'll want to incorporate into your diet: Sweet potatoes
contain fiber. Fiber, especially the soluble type, binds total
cholesterol in the intestinal tract and promotes cholesterol
excretion. Other high-in-soluble-fiber foods such as oats,
flaxseed and beans can also help lower cholesterol. Another
heart-healthy bonus from sweet potatoes: They are also high in
potassium and magnesium. Research shows that if Americans
boosted their potassium intake, adult cases of high blood
pressure could fall by more than 10