Foods To Lower Heart Disease Risk

Choose low fat or low carbohydrate foods? Butter or margarine? Avocado oil or coconut oil? In the midst of so many articles on the development of nutritional research, it's hard to know which fatty foods we should eat, and how much we can eat them.

Currently, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally. As many as 80% of chronic diseases can be appeased by a healthy diet, live without cigarettes, maintain weight, and exercise regularly.

In a healthy diet, focusing on single nutrients is easy. This helps us in preventing nutrient deficiency (for example, vitamin C and skorbut).

But that way is not powerful enough as a strategy to avoid chronic illness. When talking about fat, which we must consider is the diet.

Fat and cardiovascular disease

There have been many studies on the relationship of saturated fats (contained in butter, chicken skin, livestock products, etc.) to the heart. But the results are often contrary to one another. Some say, saturated fat has nothing to do with CVD. But this study does not take into account what nutrients are replacing saturated fats.

Others say the risk of CVD varies depending on what nutrients replace saturated fats. If we eat trans-fats contained in donuts, fried foods, partially hydrogenated oils and vegetable shortening oils, CVD risks increase compared to eating saturated fats. But if you eat unsaturated fats-nuts, seeds, fish, and liquid oil at room temperature, especially polyunsaturated fat like vegetable oil-then the risk of CVD is reduced compared to eating saturated fat.Risk of heart disease due to eating saturated fats - equals the risk of sugar or refined flour (white rice, white bread, and processed cereals).

Coconut oil or olive oil?

The use of coconut oil as a substitute for butter, olive oil and canola oil, has not been studied its effect on CVD. The impact of coconut oil on the risk of heart disease remains unknown. What we know is that coconut oil increases some CVD risk factors because it increases cholesterol, rather than polyunsaturated fat (in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and fish) that lower cholesterol.

On the other hand, olive oil is shown to reduce cardiovascular disease when consumed as part of the "predimed diet" (PDP), described below. Because that's more important to look at the pattern of food rather than each fat. Foods derived from plants are the best There is strong evidence that the Mediterranean diet reduces cardiovascular disease.

This diet consumes food from plants-vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and olive oil-plus fish and wine to taste. Meat, butter, cream, sour drinks and edible roast cakes are limited.

Men with heart disease, in the Lyon Diet Heart Study, reported a 30 percent decrease in secondary cardiac arrest, after a Mediterranean diet. Participants who followed the "predimed" diet (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea or Prevention with Mediterranean Food) experienced a 30% reduction in primary prevention of CVD. Both of these diets are similar, and both contain fat from nuts or high olive oil.

The famous people live long and rarely affected by heart disease, among others Sardinia in Italy, Icaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, and Loma Linda in California. Famous as the "blue zone" they all lead a healthy lifestyle and vegetarian diet.

Their staple foods are vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and nuts and can include fish. Meat is consumed only on certain occasions. When combined with intensive exercise, other plant-based diets run in the Lifestyle Heart Trial show a reversal of heart disease.

This is vegetarian food with very low fat (fat is only 10% of total calories) consisting of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes with little non-fat dairy products. In these dietary patterns, fat content ranges from 10% to 40% of total calories. This suggests, foods with low fat content or foods with high fat content decreases CVD risk-if both come from plants.

Eat cruciferous vegetables and citrus fruits

We should eat five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Research shows that five servings of vegetables and fruit per day provide protection from CVD, but 10 servings of vegetables and fruit per day lowered the risk of heart disease by 24%.

One serving is equivalent to one medium-sized fruit, half a cup of chopped fruit or berries, one quarter cup of dried fruit, half a cup of cooked or raw vegetables and one cup of salad. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and kale-along with the rich fruits of beta-carotene and vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, and pumpkins have the greatest benefits. Similarly, apples, pears, berries, and citrus fruits such as oranges.

Serve whole grains and legumes

We must also eat at least three servings of whole grains every day. Research shows that this reduces CVD risk by 19%. What is one portion? A serving can be a whole-grain piece of bread, half a piece of whole-grain bread, a bowl of cereal, one-third cup of cooked grains such as barley, bulgur, brown rice and quinoa or half cup whole grain or corn pasta cooked.

Legum also reduces the risk of heart disease. Research shows that four portions of legume each week lowers CVD risk by 14%.

Each week we have to eat three to four servings-black beans, arabs (garbanzo beans), kidney beans, navy, soybeans, lentils or dried peas. One serving is the same size as three quarters of a cup of cooked legumes.

Healthy fats in fish, nuts, seeds, and oil

Back to fat issues. We can get the good fats the body needs from fish, beans, oils, and grains. Eating fish at least two to four times a week reduces CVD risk by up to 17%, according to the study. One serving of fish consists of three ounces of salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, tuna, halibut and other cooked fish.

Eating at least three servings of nuts each week is a great idea. Just a quarter cup of nuts consumed four times per week reduces CVD by 24%. One serving of beans is a quarter cup of walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, peanuts, or pistachio nuts. Or two tablespoons of natural walnuts, cashews, or peanut butter.

Grains-like pumpkin seeds, hemp, chia, sunflower, and sesame-and butter made from sesame and sunflower seeds also lower the risk of CVD. Olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, and soy oil all lower the risk of CVD as well as avocados, which increases cholesterol profiles.

Enjoy as often as possible plant-based foods that are natural, minimal process. This type of food is better for us. And, as a bonus-eating those foods is also better for the environment.