7 Reasons Why We Die of Heart Disease
According to the US Surgeon General, heart attacks and strokes are highly preventable. In fact, seven of ten Americans who die each year, die of a preventable chronic disease such as heart disease and diabetes [1]. A former US Surgeon General, David Satcher, said, “Currently, 95 percent of the health care dollars in the US are spent on treating disease, with relatively little attention paid to preventing disease, which should be a national priority [2].”
Here are seven things we’re doing wrong…
We Smoke
The risk of dying of a heart attack is four times higher in people who smoke than in those who don’t smoke. Many of us are under the impression that the major danger from smoking is cancer but that’s not quite true; smoking is the major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. In fact, about 40 percent of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are due to smoking.
We Don’t Walk
Over the past 50 years, health professionals have examined the association between physical activity and the risk for heart disease. The findings consistently reveal that people who are physically active have half the risk for heart attacks than people who are not active. Those studies show also that at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week, is sufficient to reduce the risk of heart attack [3].
We Eat Too Much Saturated Fat
There’s a reason why health authorities advise us to limit the consumption of saturated fat:
Saturated fat is the most rigid of all fats and is solid at room temperature. Solid fats are hard to dissolve and can easily get stuck in your arteries.
When you eat too much saturated fat, your liver keeps producing cholesterol and you end up with much more cholesterol than you need.
Limit saturated fat consumption to less than 10 percent of the total calories ingested per day.
We Ingest Too Many Foods Containing Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats
Hydrogenated oils or trans fats as they are usually called, are produced artificially by injecting molecules of hydrogen in vegetable oils, a process called hydrogenation. Through this process, the oil, which is liquid at room temperature, changes its original form and becomes solid. In other words, it becomes saturated fat. In addition, the unnatural shapes of trans fats cause our cells to become malformed and to malfunction. And that includes the cells of the heart and the arteries.
Read the food label and avoid products which contain trans fats or hydrogenated fats.
We Don’t Eat Enough Fruits and Vegetables
We know that people who consume plant foods regularly have a lower incidence of heart disease than those who don’t include them in their diet.
Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, nonnutritive chemicals found in plant foods that protect their host plants from infections and microbial invasions. However, phytochemicals are also crucial in protecting humans against many diseases, including heart disease.
We Have Too Much Stress
Eighty percent of the population suffers from some kind of symptoms caused by stress which many times end up in illnesses such as high blood pressure—a risk factor for heart attack.
One of the reasons why you succumb to disease easily is because tension reduces your capacity to adapt to today’s changing environment.
We Drink too Much Alcohol
Avoid high alcohol consumption. 5 to 7 percent of the hypertension we see in people is due to high alcohol intake. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 2/3 of strokes and 50 percent of heart attacks are caused by high blood pressure.
The good news is, Bios Life is here to help.
References
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/publichealthpriorities.html
http://www.tobaccofreeutah.org/finalpressrelease.doc
Thompson P. Preventing coronary heart disease. The role of physical activity. The Physician and Sportsmedicine. 2001 Feb;29(2).
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