What we eat greatly influences our heart health, be it negatively or positively
Globally, heart disease is responsible for close to one-third of all fatalities. Food has a significant impact on heart health and can lower your chance of developing heart disease. In reality, a number of characteristics that are risk factors for heart disease, including blood pressure, triglycerides, inflammation, and cholesterol levels, can be affected by the foods you eat. In this article, we discuss how a healthy diet can improve your heart health.
Here's how our diet improves our heart health:
1. Can help manage cholesterol
While certain foods can increase bad cholesterol, many can help lower it. All of the cell membranes in the body contain cholesterol, a lipid that is required for several metabolic processes. It is created in the liver and is made by the body from the food we ingest. While HDL ('good') cholesterol helps to eliminate cholesterol from the body and makes it more difficult for plaque to build in the arteries, LDL ('bad') cholesterol can cause plaque to form in the arteries.
2. Provide healthy fats
By substituting unsaturated ('good fats') for saturated and trans dietary fats, you can lower your chance of developing heart disease. Use oils from seeds or plants in place of butter, lard, coconut, and palm oil, dripping, and copha (such as olive, avocado, sunflower, canola, safflower, peanut, soybean, and sesame). Unsalted nuts, seeds, avocados, and a variety of seeds (such as chia, tahini, and linseed) are additional sources of unsaturated fats.
3. Supply essential nutrients
Heart disease can be warded off by the fibre, potassium, and other micronutrients (such as antioxidants) found in fruits and vegetables. Also, they are a significant source of folate, which aids in reducing blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease. To reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, eat more legumes, nuts, and seeds. These are wonderful sources of plant proteins, fibre, beneficial fats, and minerals.
4. Help manage glycemic levels
Unrefined carbohydrate sources with a low glycemic load, like wholegrain bread and cereals, legumes, some varieties of rice and pasta, and the majority of fruits and vegetables, also assist in lowering blood triglyceride and glucose (sugar) levels, managing diabetes, and lowering the risk of heart disease. A diet rich in wholegrain cereals has been related to decreased LDL cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease. Oats, lentils, and barley are a few examples of foods high in soluble fibre that are excellent for decreasing total cholesterol levels.
5. Protect with antioxidants
According to certain research, vitamin E functions as an antioxidant and aids in protecting against LDL cholesterol. Avocados, leafy green vegetables, vegetable oils, and wholegrain goods are all sources of vitamin E. Rather than taking pills, which have not been demonstrated to have the same protective effects, eat foods that are rich in vitamin E. According to some studies, tea's antioxidants may aid in preventing the formation of fatty deposits in the arteries. They may also enhance blood vessel dilatation to enable improved blood flow and function as an anti-blood clotting agent.
Incorporate healthy foods into your diet to make sure your heart can obtain these benefits of eating right.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.