Monday, September 17, 2018

The 'Free' Secret of Heart Disease

Scientists have new evidence of a healthy lifestyle so they don't get heart disease. Reporting from Time, Monday (17/9), people in South America have a very small risk of coronary atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries in heart disease. They have a five-fold lower chance of developing heart disease than other US residents.

In a health report published in the journal The Lancet, the research team visited 85 villages from Tsimane residents, South America. The scientists then measured 705 adults to calculate their risk for heart disease. The research team took CT scans from respondents to see hardening of the arteries. The study also measured other factors, such as blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation.

"We are interested in understanding the aging process of those who are not modern society, they continue to live the life of their ancestors," said Professor Hillard Kaplan as the Study Writer and Professor in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. From the study, as many as 85 percent of respondents had absolutely no risk of heart disease. Then 13 percent of them have very low risk.

When the research team compared these findings to other studies involving more than 6 thousand US respondents, the results were far different. From the study it was found that only 14 percent had a low risk of heart disease, and more than 50 percent of respondents were at high risk.

In research on the Tsimane community, they were low on average in terms of blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. But they are high from the side of inflammation. However, this does not affect the risk of heart disease. The researchers cannot fully answer the facts. But the Tsimane people's lifestyle plays a major role. Only 10 percent of the population is not active. The rest, they are actively hunting, collecting food, and farming.

Tsimane residents also consume a lot of high fiber, and not much processed carbohydrates, such as corn, beans, and rice. At least 15 percent of their food comes from fish meat and protein. The Tsimane population's diet is also overall low in fat, and they do not smoke. On the contrary, people in the US actually do not move more throughout the day. Processed foods are also often consumed, as well as 15 percent of Americans smoke.

Even so the researchers did not suggest that humans should live like the Tsimane community, which is to go hunting or farming. But people need to take lessons from the lifestyle of the Tsimane people. The community can adopt the Tsimane people's living habits, namely moving actively, not smoking, and paying attention to food intake.

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