By Debjani Baidyaray

Mumbai, May 12: Chocolates, coffee or red wine does not benefit cardiovascular health, reveals the Australian Heart Foundation.

It is often believed that consuming chocolates, drinking coffee and having red wine helps in reducing risk of heart problems. But a review of more than 100 scientific papers found that though these are considered to be parts of a healthy diet, they are actually not.

Susan Anderson, the Heart Foundation’s national director of healthy weight, states that the review confirms the fact that one needs to rethink before consuming chocolates and caffeine despite the presence of antioxidants in them. However, they are okay as part of a balanced diet.

The best way to have antioxidants is to have a balanced plant-based diet that includes more of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, cereals, nuts and seeds every day.  Two servings of fruits and at least five servings of vegetables help in providing the required nutritional value every day, states Anderson.

Anderson also suggested that the milk added to tea should be reduced or low fat milk should be used to lower risk of heart disease.

Anderson said that the myths about heart healthy foods should be reviewed by doctors and other health professionals to ensure that one is not consuming the wrong foods.

It is important to have at least four to five servings of fruits and vegetables every day,  choose heart -friendly oils like canola, olive or mustard, have fishes that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, include more beans and legumes in your diet and have nuts as your snacks whenever you feel hungry. Have skimmed milk and avoid cheese and butter to avoid high cholesterol levels.

Also read: Five health benefits of dark chocolate

TAGS: Chocolates, heart

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