Heart Diseases Prevention with Healthy Food Habits

Despite the dramatic decline of the cases reported, heart diseases still remain as the leading cause of death in many countries of the world. Even after much effort to treat these conditions using many pharmaceutical drugs, doctors have still been unable to reverse the condition without the help of lifestyle modifications.

When it comes to lifestyle, diet plays a major role. A healthy diet can prevent as well as treat cardiac diseases. Patients with heart diseases are required to follow a heart healthy diet in order to prevent further cardiac events. But, a healthy diet is not limited to them and should be followed by everyone as a step of preventing cardiac diseases.

When it comes to heart-healthy diet, there are many theories recognized. But, it is important to know which facts are based on real scientific evidence. One of the most common ideas many people once believed was that high-fat diet is the most dangerous when it comes to heart health. But, recent studies have shown that high carb diets are more dangerous than the high-fat diets and they are the real culprits of heart diseases. That is why the doctors and dieticians recommend that you follow a low carb diet.

Yet, fats are also considered as a “watch out” food component. The most interesting fact about fats is that there are two types; healthy fats and unhealthy fats. While reduction of unhealthy fats reduced the risk of heart diseases, consuming more healthy fats also showed the same results. According to these results, collected from many scientific studies indicates that all fats are not bad, and a heart friendly diet should contain more healthy fats while unhealthy fats are reduced or completely eliminated as they can increase the risk of coronary events. Healthy fats are recognized as Long Chain PolyUnsaturated Fatty Acids (LCPUFA), other PolyUnsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) Monounsaturated fatty acids and Omega 3 fats.

According to many other studies, refined carbohydrates and refined sugars have shown to increase the body’s inflammation levels which increase the risk of atherosclerosis formation. Furthermore, they are also considered as responsible for diabetes mellitus type 2 which is one of the most common concomitant conditions that many heart patients suffer from. By reducing or stopping the consumption of refined sugars and carbs, as well as replacing them with whole grains, you can reverse this inflammatory status.

It is said that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” and this is absolutely true. The soluble fibers of apple are believed to protect the heart. Also, flavonoids and polyphenolic antioxidants that are naturally available in fruits and vegetables inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) which is responsible for forming atherosclerotic plaques in arteries. Thereby, plenty of fruits and vegetables can save your blood vessels as well as the heart from thrombotic events. With this scientific research, the facts have been proving to be completely true. The data showed that consuming fresh fruits and vegetable reduced the mortality rate of elderly patients who suffer from cardiac diseases.

Following a heart friendly diet is considered as a priority if you love your life. Due to the high rates of heart patients, these lifestyle modifications are encouraged so that you can start this healthy transformation today!