Foods and supplements claimed to help heart and circulation
83 of them, ranked by strength of evidence. 7 reach grade A or B.
At a glance
83 foods and supplements marketed for heart and circulation, each graded one by one against clinical trial evidence. Grade spread: A 4 · B 3 · C 56 · D 17 · F 2. 7 reach grade A or B.
The grade measures how strong the evidence is, not how good something is for you. Grade A means independent research groups replicated a reduction in real clinical events in humans; grade F means well-designed trials established there is no effect. See Methodology.
Claimed to help heart and circulation — strongest evidence first
Within a grade, higher scores come first; verdicts without a score sit at the bottom. Follow a name to see its trials, evidence, and limits.
| A | 90 | Plant sterols and stanols | Reduction in LDL cholesterol |
| A | 88 | Oat beta-glucan | Blood cholesterol improvement (LDL-C and total cholesterol) |
| A | 84 | Reduced-sodium, potassium-enriched salt substitute | Reduced stroke and major cardiovascular events |
| A | 84 | Mediterranean dietary pattern emphasizing extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fish | Reduced myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death in high-risk adults |
| B | 74 | Potassium | Blood pressure |
| B | 62 | Red yeast rice (monacolin K, red yeast rice) | Cholesterol improvement |
| B | 60 | Lactotripeptides IPP and VPP | Blood-pressure reduction in mild hypertension |
| C | 58 | Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa/roselle) | Blood pressure |
| C | 58 | Olive leaf extract | Improvement in blood pressure |
| C | 58 | Horse chestnut seed extract standardized to aescin | Relief of leg pain, edema, and heaviness in chronic venous insufficiency |
| C | 58 | Soy protein and isolated soy protein | Reduction in LDL cholesterol |
| C | 58 | Magnesium (essential mineral supplement; blood-pressure efficacy axis) | Reduced blood pressure in adults with hypertension or borderline hypertension |
| C | 58 | Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet | Reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure |
| C | 57 | AB-LIFE probiotic blend | Improved LDL and total cholesterol |
| C | 56 | Butcher's broom root extract (Ruscus aculeatus) | Relief of leg edema, heaviness, and tension in chronic venous insufficiency |
| C | 56 | Habitual whole-natto intake | Lower cardiovascular mortality |
| C | 56 | Tofu at least once weekly | Lower incidence of coronary heart disease |
| C | 56 | Tuna, tuna salad or casserole, and other broiled or baked fish | Reduced incidence of heart failure in older adults |
| C | 56 | Isocaloric replacement of one serving/day of red meat with one serving/day of nuts, legumes, and soy | Reduced coronary heart disease incidence |
| C | 56 | TOHP dietary sodium-reduction intervention | Reduced long-term cardiovascular events |
| C | 56 | Domestic water hardness of 121-180 mg/L as CaCO3 | Lower incidence of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, coronary heart disease, and stroke |
| C | 55 | Garlic (including allicin and aged garlic extract) | Blood pressure and cholesterol |
| C | 55 | Artichoke leaf extract | Cholesterol, digestion, and liver |
| C | 55 | Almond (Prunus dulcis) | Lower LDL cholesterol and reduced heart-disease risk |
| C | 54 | Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) | cardiovascular and blood-flow improvement |
| C | 54 | Small purple potatoes microwaved with the skin | Lower blood pressure in overweight adults with hypertension |
| C | 54 | Whole-eggplant juice-dried powder | Reduction of office blood pressure |
| C | 54 | Three daily servings of whole wheat and oats | Reduced systolic blood pressure |
| C | 54 | Farmed trout, 250 g twice weekly as food | Improved blood lipids in people with hyperlipidemia |
| C | 52 | Pomegranate (pomegranate) | Antioxidant, vascular, blood pressure, and skin effects |
| C | 52 | Pantethine | Reduction in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides |
| C | 52 | Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone or ubiquinol supplement) | Reduced all-cause mortality and heart-failure hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure receiving standard therapy |
| C | 50 | Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone/ubiquinol) | antioxidant and blood-pressure improvement |
| C | 50 | Niacin (vitamin B3) | Cholesterol and lipids |
| C | 50 | Raw cucumber slices | Lower LDL cholesterol in mildly hyperlipidemic postmenopausal women |
| C | 50 | Two whole raw apples with skin, 340 g daily | Lower LDL cholesterol |
| C | 50 | Whole gochujang | Improved triglycerides and ApoB |
| C | 50 | Milled flaxseed, 30 g daily | Lower blood pressure in peripheral artery disease |
| C | 50 | Dark chocolate above 85% cocoa, a single 40-g serving | Improved maximal walking distance and time in peripheral artery disease |
| C | 50 | Hibiscus tea brewed from Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces | Improvement in LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and other blood lipids |
| C | 50 | One gram per day of whole air-dried ground coriander seed | Reduced fasting glucose and LDL in adults with type 2 diabetes |
| C | 50 | Red-meat and white-meat diets matched for saturated fat | LDL and apoB versus nonmeat protein, and red-versus-white meat differences |
| C | 50 | Replacing animal meat with processed plant-based meat alternatives | Lower LDL cholesterol |
| C | 50 | Low-AGE diet emphasizing boiling and steaming | Improvement in circulating AGEs and cardiovascular risk markers |
| C | 50 | A single meal of tomato sauce at 3.5 g/kg containing 5% refined olive oil | Six-hour changes in leukocyte adhesion molecules and circulating inflammatory markers |
| C | 50 | Coenzyme Q10 120 mg/day plus purified piperine 5 mg/day for twenty-one days | Higher absolute plasma coenzyme Q10 increase and concentration-time area |
| C | 49 | Black raspberry extract (Rubus occidentalis) | Blood-pressure control |
| C | 47 | Arjuna bark (Terminalia arjuna extract capsules) | Improvement of angina symptoms, exercise tolerance, and cardiac function |
| C | 46 | Raw unsalted crushed cashews, 30 g daily | Lower systolic blood pressure in type 2 diabetes |
| C | 46 | Black-tea beverage, three cups daily | Lower 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure in adults with normal to high-normal pressure |
| C | 46 | Cookies providing 5.88 g/day kombu powder boiled for 60 minutes to reduce iodine | Lower blood pressure in adults with overweight |
| C | 46 | Culinary sesame oil, 35 g daily | Lower blood pressure in hypertensive men versus the usual diet or existing olive-oil and corn-oil comparators |
| C | 46 | An isocaloric controlled diet containing conventional canola oil | Lower LDL when replacing an oil blend with a Western fatty-acid profile |
| C | 45 | Sacha inchi oil (Plukenetia volubilis, omega-rich oil) | Cardiovascular disease prevention through improved LDL cholesterol and triglycerides |
| C | 44 | Bergamot polyphenolic fraction | Improvement in LDL and triglycerides |
| C | 44 | Fruitflow water-soluble tomato concentrate (branded ingredient) | Prevention of cardiovascular disease through inhibition of platelet aggregation |
| C | 43 | Aronia (aronia/chokeberry) | Antioxidant, blood pressure, and vascular effects |
| C | 43 | Lycopene | Cardiovascular, prostate |
| C | 43 | Lumbrokinase, a group of earthworm-derived enzymes | Thrombolysis and prevention of myocardial infarction and stroke |
| C | 43 | Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone or ubiquinol; a mitochondrial quinone antioxidant supplement) | Relief of statin-associated muscle symptoms and improved continuation of statin therapy |
| C | 40 | Celery seed extract (Apium graveolens seed extract, 3nB) | Blood pressure |
| C | 40 | Hesperidin | Improvement of blood pressure, endothelial function, and venous circulation |
| C | 40 | Alpha-cyclodextrin | Improvement of postprandial triglycerides, LDL, and body weight |
| D | 34 | Nattokinase (nattokinase, fibrinolytic enzyme derived from Bacillus subtilis natto) | Blood clots and blood circulation |
| D | 34 | Unsalted butter, 50 g daily | No worse effect on LDL than olive or coconut oil |
| D | 32 | Tocotrienols | Reduction in LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular protection |
| D | 30 | Virgin coconut oil (VCO, a saturated-fat food and supplement) | Lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease |
| D | 30 | Whole spinach soup, 250 g/day of spinach | Lower blood pressure |
| D | 30 | 100% watermelon juice | Improved vascular function in healthy postmenopausal women |
| D | 30 | Habitual whole-cheese intake | Lower mortality and major cardiovascular events |
| D | 30 | Perilla oil capsules, 3 g daily | Lower triglycerides in people with type 2 diabetes versus fish oil and flaxseed-oil plus fish-oil comparators |
| D | 30 | Refined grape-seed oil, 20 mL daily | Lower blood pressure versus refined olive oil or no added oil |
| D | 30 | Participant-selected caffeinated coffee | Reduced daily premature atrial contractions |
| D | 29 | Hawthorn leaf and flower extract | Improvement in chronic-heart-failure symptoms, exercise capacity, and blood pressure |
| D | 28 | Policosanol (sugarcane-derived) | LDL cholesterol improvement |
| D | 28 | Guggul extract, guggulipid, or guggulsterone | Reduction of LDL cholesterol |
| D | 28 | Beverage containing 50 g freeze-dried whole-strawberry powder | Lower LDL cholesterol |
| D | 28 | Whole eggs including yolk, one or three per day | Little or no effect on blood LDL and HDL in adults with hyperlipidemia |
| D | 24 | Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol, fat-soluble vitamin supplement; cardiovascular efficacy axis) | Primary prevention of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death in generally healthy middle-aged and older adults |
| D | 24 | Selenium (L-selenomethionine or selenium, an antioxidant trace-mineral supplement) | Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults |
| F | 14 | Boiled unfiltered coffee, four to six cups/day | Does not raise LDL or total cholesterol |
| F | 3 | Marine omega-3 EPA and DHA (fish-oil supplements and some prescription products) | Prevention of incident atrial fibrillation and protection of heart rhythm |
| ? | score not listed | Geranylgeraniol (GG) | Prevention of statin-related CoQ10 depletion and muscle pain |
Claimed to harm heart and circulation (9)
Here a higher grade means the harm is better established — the opposite direction from the table above. A low grade means the claim of harm rests on weak evidence.
What does have evidence for heart and circulation
Not foods or supplements: drugs and procedures graded A or B. Chamgap recommends nothing. It only shows where the evidence is strong. Any treatment decision belongs with your doctor.
| A | 94 | Spironolactone (mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and potassium-sparing diuretic, Aldactone, prescription drug) | Reduced all-cause mortality and hospitalization for worsening heart failure in severe symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction |
| A | 94 | Enalapril (oral prescription angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor) | Reduced all-cause mortality and heart-failure hospitalization in symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction |
| A | 94 | Low-dose aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, antiplatelet drug available by prescription and over the counter) | Prevention of recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke, and vascular death in patients with established myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke |
| A | 92 | Simvastatin (statin, Zocor, prescription medicine) | Reduced myocardial infarction, stroke, and vascular death in people at high cardiovascular risk |
| A | 92 | Bisoprolol (a prescription beta-1-selective beta blocker marketed as Concor) | Reduced all-cause mortality, sudden death, and heart-failure hospitalization in stable symptomatic HFrEF |
| A | 92 | Streptokinase (plasminogen-activating thrombolytic, prescription injection) | Reduced short-term and one-year mortality with early intravenous treatment of acute myocardial infarction |
| A | 90 | Warfarin (prescription vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant; Coumadin) | Prevention of ischemic stroke and systemic embolism in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation |
| A | 90 | Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD, prescription cardiac electrical-therapy device and procedure) | Reduced all-cause mortality in patients at least 40 days after myocardial infarction with LVEF of 30% or less |
| A | 90 | Medical intermittent pneumatic compression (sequential compression medical device; prescribed inpatient procedure) | Prevention of proximal deep-vein thrombosis and death in immobile patients with acute stroke |
| A | 88 | Atorvastatin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, Lipitor, prescription medicine) | Additional reduction of major cardiovascular events with high-intensity dosing in established coronary disease |
| A | 88 | Pravastatin (prescription HMG-CoA reductase-inhibiting statin; Mevalotin) | Primary prevention of coronary heart disease death and nonfatal myocardial infarction in adults with hypercholesterolemia and no prior myocardial infarction |
| A | 88 | Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (an exercise-and-education healthcare delivery program) | Reduced recurrent myocardial infarction and hospitalisation in people with coronary heart disease |
How to read this list
A grade of C or D does not mean "do not take it." It means the evidence is not yet strong enough to promise the effect. Equally, A or B does not mean it works for everyone.
Chamgap sells nothing and takes no advertising. See all Heart & Circulation verdicts.