Adding vinegar to your greens can boost artery function.

This video was originally published on NutritionFacts.org and republished with permission. NutritionFacts.org

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, so it stands to reason that anything we can do to reduce the risk of cardiac problems would be beneficial to us. It turns out that we can increase artery function by eating our salads with balsamic vinaigrette instead of ranch!

According to this video from NutritionFacts.org, a study conducted in 1999 by Harvard noted that women who use oil and vinegar salad dressings had fewer than half the number of fatal heart attacks than women who used other dressings. Now, it’s important to keep in mind that this study adjusted for vegetable content, frequency of ingestion, etc, and yet it the results seemed to point in the same direction – diet has an impact on cardiovascular health. Specifically, vinegar affects artery function in a very positive way, helping to dilate arteries and increase blood flow.

What is also important to note is that the vinegar is synergistic with the greens. On its own, neither the green vegetables nor the vinegar had an affect on artery function, but once combined, artery function rose significantly. Who would have thought that simply switching to different salad dressing could have such a profound result?