Protect your heart with a plant-based diet

• May 17, 2024

Cardiovascular diseases (those of the heart and blood vessels) are the leading cause of death in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO). These disorders, which include heart attacks, stroke, coronary heart disease and hypertension, cause more than 17 million deaths each year.

And although there are some risk factors that we can not alter, such as our genetic inheritance, we can change other elements linked to lifestyle.

One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is to make small changes in our diet.

For example, reduce our salt intake, monitor the fats we eat and eat more fruits and vegetables.

These changes can have a huge impact on the three main risk factors for heart disease: body mass index (BMI), hypertension and cholesterol levels.

For a healthy heart, the most important elements of the diet and for what we have to worry about are cholesterol levels and excess salt. If we restrict the consumption of these two factors we can avoid conditions such as hypertension . That is why the less savory and processed foods you consume, the better for your heart.

Not all cholesterol is bad. Our body requires the so-called "good cholesterol" to fulfill some of its functions, since it is responsible for removing the bad cholesterol from the cells and take it back to the liver , where it is broken down or excreted.

That is why we must monitor which foods increase bad cholesterol levels and improve good cholesterol levels.
 

Source: BBC World

Video Medicine: Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet (May 2024).