Living Well

Combatting Heart Disease With Good Nutrition December 22, 2008

Atherosclerosis occurs when cholesterol, fat, and other substances in your blood build up in the walls of your arteries. The process can begin when you’re a child, but it may not become a problem until you’re in your 50s or 60s.

As this muck gathers in your arteries, it forms plaque. Plaque can clog or completely block arteries, cutting off blood flow to your heart or brain. That’s when you have a heart attack or stroke.

 Imagine hundreds of cars zooming down an eight-lane highway. One lane disappears, and then another, until the same cars crawl bumper-to-bumper along a one-lane country road. That’s sort of what happens when you have atherosclerosis.

Your arteries, the highways for your blood, harden and narrow, and the same amount of blood has to make its way through a much tighter space. This traffic jam in your arteries leads to all sorts of trouble, including heart attack and stroke.

Too much cholesterol and triglycerides – types of fat – in the blood, lead to high blood pressure, and smoking causes the most damage to your arteries. Other risk factors for atherosclerosis include diabetes, a family history of the condition, stress, obesity, and an inactive lifestyle.

Men, in general, are at greater risk, as are people who have an “apple” body shape – with the fat gathering at the belly rather than the hips and thighs.

You can fight atherosclerosis by making good food choices. Cut back on saturated fat and cholesterol from meat and whole-milk dairy products, and look for foods that lower cholesterol, bring down blood pressure, and keep your blood flowing smoothly.

To learn more about the many benefits of learning how to protect yourself from this and other health related issues: Click Here!