With recent evidence showing as many as 1 in 3 men and 1 in 4 women living with heart disease, it has become more important than ever to take the steps needed early on to avoid problems in later life.
Here, we answer the fundamental questions you may have about heart disease: what is it? what causes it? And how can I prevent it from happening to me?
What is heart disease?
Coronary heart disease is a condition that affects the arteries and the heart muscle. Blood supply to the heart is restricted, causing a reduction in the volume of oxygen reaching the heart muscle.
Our whole body requires a healthy oxygen supply in order to function, and keep it working effectively. The heart is no different, with the cells making up the heart muscle and its connections requiring oxygen in order to maintain the contracting motion which keeps blood pumping through the body.
To put this into perspective, heart attacks are caused when oxygen supply to the heart is cut off, causing cell death.
What causes heart disease?
Atherosclerosis (where artery walls thicken due to a build up of fatty materials, including cholesterol) is the most common cause of heart disease. You may already be aware of this by the term “hardening of the arteries”.
Factors known to cause heart disease, are smoking, high sugar levels due to diabetes and high amounts of fats and cholesterol in the blood. When we consider the latter causes, these are two symptoms of obesity.
There is an important reason why doctors and health professionals encourage overweight and obese patients to exercise and lose weight. The fact is, when we weight more than what is healthy for our height and build, we put ourselves at risk of heart disease, heart attacks and strokes among others.
Studies show that atherosclerosis, and a build of of cholesterol in arteries occurs over time. For us dieters who have already made the first steps on our weight loss journey, this means we are already taking positive steps to help avoid these killer diseases. For those that haven't, there is no time like the present to work towards a healthy heart before problems begin.
How can I prevent heart disease?
The good news is, there are some small simple steps we can take to avoid heart disease and related problems. They don't require a complete lifestyle change to achieve, and can seem common sense:
- Get active! Doctors recommend 30 minutes of exercise each day. This doesn't have to mean a hardcore gym session every day, and could include taking the dog for a walk, or even playing the Wii Fit.
- Follow a healthy heart diet plan. This means eating foods that are lower in salt,cholesterol and fat. Make sure your fat intake is between 85-100 grams per day (or less for those who are experiencing the first signs of heart disease) and eat no more than 6g of salt per day.
- Lose weight for a healthy heart. You can drastically reduce your risk of heart disease and related medical problems by losing even 10% of your body weight. The tips above will get you started with losing weight, as will a calorie controlled diet. For those that need a helping hand, there are numerous weight loss aids on the market that can help you lose weight and gain a healthy heart.
Diet aids for a healthier heart
For anyone who feels they may be at risk of heart disease, the most important tip for choosing a weight loss aid is to avoid anything that causes an increase in blood pressure as this can only make heart problems worse. This includes the dangerous pills ephedrine and clenbuterol as well as caffeine based pills.
We recommend Proactol XS for achieveing a healthier heart. Because it allows 25% of dietary fat to pass through the body undigested, it can help you achieve tip number two by reducing your daily fat intake. It can help you achieve tip number 3 of losing weight, yet it doesn't contain any risky ingredients like caffeine that can make heart problems worse.
If you would like to read more about Proactol XS click here to read our independent review.
Author: Aileen
Hi, I'm Aileen, the owner of Diet Pill Judge. I have personally tried loads of diet pills over the years and found that only a few of them really work.
My background is in science, so I set out to find supplements that have scientific evidence behind them and which I can confidently recommend.
