Cardiovascular Diseases Specialist Dr. Dr. Muharrem Arslandag gave information on the subject. The most important cause of death in our society is cardiovascular diseases and their consequences. High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, being overweight and smoking are the most important risk factors. With a healthy diet, both these risk factors and atherosclerosis can be prevented.
What is Heart Health?
Our heart, which is the blood pump of our body, has a dense vascular network. If there is a problem that prevents the flow of blood in these veins, it means that the health of the heart is impaired. Not only the heart vessels are affected, but also the brain, kidney and limb vessels are also affected.
Fats are the basic building blocks of our body. Healthy people have fat both in their bloodstream and in the building blocks of their cells. However, if the amount of cholesterol and fat circulating in the blood increases, it can accumulate in the veins. Excess cholesterol accumulates on the vessel wall and eventually clogs the vessel. Whichever organ the occluded vessel feeds, there is a loss of function in that organ.
What is Benign and Malicious Cholesterol?
Several types of cholesterol are measured in blood measurements.
Bad cholesterol (LDL) is cholesterol that accumulates in the walls of blood vessels. It increases the risk of heart disease.
Benign cholesterol (HDL) carries cholesterol from the tissues, blood and vessel walls to the liver for excretion. Above a certain value, it reduces the risk of heart disease.
How to reduce LDL to prevent atherosclerosis? How to raise HDL?
The easiest way to increase blood HDL level is to do physical exercise. In addition, quitting smoking, controlling sugar if we are diabetic, losing weight, consuming high-fiber foods and consuming low-fat foods will increase HDL levels. With such a dietary habit, the LDL cholesterol level will also decrease.
Here are our tips for healthy eating:
With a few precautions you can take, you can protect your vascular health, which is very valuable.
1. Reduce your fat consumption, prefer unsaturated monofats, avoid foods containing high cholesterol
As it can be seen from the word balance, diet does not mean being hungry, it is not healthy to completely remove the consumption of fatty foods from the diet so that we will be healthy. Fat, which is the basic building block of the body, must be present in the diet. The main thing is the type of fat, healthy nutrition can be achieved by consuming the harmless fat. For example, vegetable oils such as olive oil and sunflower oil. It is extremely important to remove solid saturated fats such as margarine from the diet.
Cholesterol is found in foods of animal origin (milk, meat, chicken, fish, cheese, etc.). In order to reduce your blood cholesterol, it is necessary to consume them in small amounts.
2. Consume pulpy foods, increase fruit consumption
Foods rich in fiber are products containing oats, wheat bran, vegetables and fruits. Consuming fruits with rich antioxidant properties is extremely beneficial for heart health.
3. Reach your ideal weight, Exercise regularly
Do 5-30 minutes of physical activity every day or at least 45 days a week. In this way, you will feel more fit as your blood cholesterol decreases. In addition, blood pressure control will be easier and you will lose weight.
4. Quit smoking
Smoking raises blood pressure, facilitates blood clotting, raises cholesterol and increases the risk of cancer.
5. Keep your blood pressure under control
To maintain ideal blood pressure values, consume salt-free and use your medications regularly.
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