February is heart month. The heart pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen and essential nutrients to every tissue, and carries away waste products produced by cell metabolism. Blood also shuttles other chemicals, such as hormones, throughout the body as needed. Together, the heart and blood vessels are referred to as the cardiovascular system.

The heart is a muscle that weighs only about a pound. This small organ pumps about 1,800 gallons of blood through more than 60,000 miles of blood vessels every day. There is no weekend downtime or summer vacation for the heart. It has to work 24/7.

You have likely read or heard a lot about what you shouldn’t eat for heart health. But what do you know about the nutrients necessary to build and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system capable of functioning for decades?

QUESTION: What key nutrients are needed to maintain optimal function of the cardiovascular system?

ANSWER: All essential nutrients are involved with heart function and blood production in one way or another. However, some nutrients are more central to cardiovascular health than others. Here is a quick summary of the most important ones, including some of their functions and food sources.

>> Maintaining and building blood volume: water, protein, sodium, iron and zinc. A good source of these nutrients is lean red meat.

>> Controlling inflammation and oxidation: vitamins C, D, E and B1. These nutrients are scattered across food groups, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, milk products and meats.

>> Lowering blood pressure: magnesium, potassium and dietary fiber. Good sources of these nutrients include a combination of foods like nuts and beans for magnesium and fiber. Potassium is high in most vegetables, especially potatoes, and in fruits like oranges.

>> Reducing homocysteine: vitamins B12, B6 and folate, along with vitamin B2 and choline. High blood homocysteine is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. B12 is in meats or foods fortified with B12. B6 is high in fortified cereals and nuts. Folate is found mostly in fruits and vegetables. B2 is high in milk products, meat and eggs, along with fortified cereals. Foods rich in choline include egg yolk, meat and soy foods.

Q: Are any other nutrients important for cardiovascular health?

A: Although sodium is commonly blamed for increased blood pressure, sodium is an essential nutrient and must be in the diet. If blood levels of sodium fall too low due to medications and/or too little salt in the diet, it can cause cardiovascular problems and even adversely affect brain function. Inadequate salt (sodium chloride) impairs stomach acid production, causing poor digestion of food and malabsorption of a variety of nutrients.

As you may see, classifying foods as good and bad for cardiovascular health doesn’t work well. With all cells in the body requiring more than 40 essential nutrients for normal function, consuming a wide variety of foods is required. The challenge is not putting your nutrient eggs all in one or two types of food baskets.

For a good review of nutrient functions in health and disease, visit the website for the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center at lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/health-disease.

Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.