The heart is the wellspring of life, therefore, you need to take good care of it if you want to live a long and quality life. While all the organs in the body are essential for bodily function, there’s no doubt that the heart, along with the brain, is considered the most essential organ. There are many factors that contribute to the overall state of your heart, but perhaps it is your diet that plays the biggest role in keeping it healthy. Coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases are actually a result of a poor diet aside from a lack of physical activity.
You are what you eat, and if you eat mostly fatty foods and foods high in cholesterol and saturated fats, there’s a huge chance for you to develop chronic heart diseases the moment you reach your middle years. If you keep on neglecting your heart like this, you can end up dead even before your time, so make sure you choose carefully what types of food to eat that will help keep heart disease at bay.
Foods that are high in cholesterol are no-no if you want to maintain the health of your heart. Bad cholesterol or low density lipoprotein (LDL) carries cholesterol to cells and tissues and can stick to artery walls. When this happens, it builds up and become plaques, which later on constrict the heart and cause the walls to rupture. When a rupture occurs, so does a blood clot that stops blood from flowing into the heart and result to a heart attack.
Foods high in LDL usually come from animal sources. Sausage, bacon, and other foods made from pork or beef have high levels of LDL and should be consumed occasionally and in small amounts. By reducing your intake of LDL-rich foods, you can significantly cut your risk for any kind of heart ailments.
However, it is also important to understand that while there is such a thing as bad cholesterol, there is also good cholesterol know as HDL or high density lipoprotein. It actually helps get rid of cholesterol from artery walls, which is the main reason why we want to eat foods that raise our good cholesterol. It also helps the liver release cholesterol by binding to the scavenger receptor-BI.
In short, HDL or good cholesterol is simply imperative if you are to keep your heart in perfect condition at all times, and the higher its level in your body, the better. Walnuts, apples, garlic, salmon, blueberries, grapes, and alcohol from wine are some of the best food sources that help boost up the body’s HDL level.
Aside from cholesterol, you should also watch out for your fat intake. Like cholesterol, there are also two kinds of fat: the good fat, also known as non-saturated fat, and the bad fat, also known as saturated fat. Saturated fat are called bad fat simply because they raise the level of cholesterol in the body. We learned earlier that a high level of cholesterol can lead to several heart problems so you have to be aware of the foods that contain saturated fats.
You may not realize it but you are exposed to foods that are high in saturated fat on a daily basis. Just as bad cholesterol come from animal sources, so do bad fat. Fatty beef, pork, lamb, chicken skin, lard, butter, cream, cheese and other dairy products, and most processed foods are considered high in saturated fat and should be consumed in relatively small amounts.
You should, however, load up with fiber-rich foods. Fiber are known to be good regulators of blood pressure in the body and help lower bad cholesterol. People who include more fiber in their diet have been found to have a lower risk for heart attack and stroke. Good sources of fiber include most fruits and vegetables.
Aside from fiber, you should also consume more foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is considered as a good fat and can greatly reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease. It doesn’t only prevent blood clots in artery walls but also help lower bad cholesterol.
Always keep in mind that what you eat will determine whether you will have a healthy heart or not, so make sure you stick to a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and other heart-healthy foods.
Always keep in mind that what you eat will determine whether you will have a healthy heart or not, so make sure you stick to a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and other heart-healthy foods.
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