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Posts Tagged ‘Nutrition’

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.

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.

Too much cholesterol and triglycerides – types of fat – in the blood, high blood pressure, and smoking cause 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 the following foods that lower cholesterol, bring down blood pressure, and keep your blood flowing smoothly.

Nutritional blockbusters that fight atherosclerosis

Fish. Reel in a big, fat fish and wriggle off the hook of atherosclerosis. Omega-3 fatty acids, the polyunsaturated kinds found in fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon, protect your arteries from damage.

First, omega-3 takes out triglycerides, the fats that build up on your artery walls. It also stops your blood’s platelets from clumping together. That way, your blood remains smooth instead of sticky. Sticky blood can clot and block blood flow. Lastly, omega-3 might lower blood pressure.

No wonder so many studies show that eating fish can reduce your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two fish meals a week.

You can find a form of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid in walnuts, which lower cholesterol. Other sources of omega-3 include flaxseed, wheat germ, and some green, leafy vegetables, like kale, spinach, and arugula.

Garlic. Anything fish can do garlic does, too. The sulfur compounds in this amazing herb not only lower cholesterol and triglycerides, but they also go after only the LDL or “bad” cholesterol and leave the HDL or “good” cholesterol alone.

Garlic can also lower blood pressure so your arteries don’t take as much of a pounding. Thanks to a substance called ajoene, garlic keeps your blood from clumping and clotting. One study even showed garlic helps your aorta, the body’s main artery, remain elastic as you age.

Experts recommend getting 4 grams of garlic – about one clove – into your diet each day.

Fiber. During the course of a day, you should eat about 25 to 35 grams of fiber. If you do, you’ll boost your general health and give atherosclerosis quite a battle.

Certain types of soluble fiber, such as the kind in oats, barley, apples, and other fruits, shrink your cholesterol levels. It works by slowing down your food as it passes through your stomach and small intestine so your “good” cholesterol has more time to take cholesterol to your liver and out of your body. Eating more than 25 grams of fiber every day might also cut your risk of developing high blood pressure by 25 percent.

Fiber comes with an added bonus – it fills you up. After a fiber-rich meal, you feel full, so you’re less likely to overeat and put on unwanted pounds. Because being overweight increases your risk of atherosclerosis and other heart problems, eating fiber could be part of an effective strategy to guard your arteries.

You’ll find fiber in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals.

Antioxidants. An unarmed intruder poses less of a threat than one with a weapon. By stopping free radicals from oxidizing LDL cholesterol, antioxidants remove much of the danger. Once oxidized, LDL cholesterol makes a beeline for your artery walls much faster. In fact, some scientists believe LDL cholesterol only harms you once it has been oxidized.
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We all age. That fact is inevitable. But a lot of the negative changes that take place in our bodies are not. As we age, we become more susceptible to such things as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and arthritis. However, medical research has shown that proper nutrition can slow down and even prevent many of these ailments.

It is estimated that nearly one half of all health problems in the elderly are directly related to poor nutrition. The elderly are by and large some of the most poorly nourished people. Some reasons for this are as you age your sense of taste and smell decreases, it is harder to chew, and you just don’t feel hungry.

In some cases, financial reasons may affect the food choices made and it may be harder to get out and shop for food due to various physical factors. On top of this, as you get older your body may not be able to absorb some of the nutrition from food as well as it could when you were younger. In some cases a good multi-vitamin (preferably in liquid form) could help offset this. Your doctor can help you find one that’s right for you.

Here are a few things that you can do to plan for better nutrition in your diet and a healthier life as you get older:

Plan out regular meals for each day and try to include vegetables in at least 2 of them every day. If you must snack, use fruits and vegetables rather than junk food like potato chips and candy.
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With all the negative reports about pork, it’s hard to believe that there is anything good to benefit from eating the meat. Pork is actually a great source for numerous nutrients. The B vitamins are nutrients for which pork provides the best source. The negative reports about pork are associated with the high saturated fat content of some cuts of the meat. With widespread attention on healthy eating, pork producers are striving to provide leaner cuts of pork that are comparable to beef in the amount of saturated fat.

Pork contains a significant amount of iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, and magnesium. These vitamins and minerals are important to proper bodily function, such as strong bones, energy, and water balance. The B vitamins in particular exist in pork in amounts comparable to other foods. A 3-oz portion of pork contains as much as half of the amount of thiamin that you need in a day. There are also significant amounts of riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and pyridoxine (B6). Each of the B vitamins serves a specific purpose, but collectively they contribute to general good health. Since pork is such a great source of B vitamins, it makes sense that you should include it in your diet.

If you have an aversion to pork or you prefer not to consume this meat, there are other excellent sources of B vitamins, including whole grains and nuts. Supplementation is also a good idea if your diet doesn’t provide you with the B vitamins you need. While a multivitamin that contains all of the B vitamins is a good choice, medical experts recommend that individuals who are over the age of 55 focus on vitamin B-12. Studies show that of all the B vitamins, B-12 is the one that the system of the elderly may not be able to process adequately. There are many vitamins specifically formulated for the elderly that contain the recommended 25 micrograms of vitamins B-12 that this age group requires.
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Making a commitment to have healthier eating habits is a tough one. Knowing how to implement that commitment may be even harder. Where do you start? What foods should you eat, and which ones should you stay away from? These are all questions you should answer before going out to the grocery store.

We need nutrients to survive. We need vitamins, minerals and calories everyday. There are two types of nutrients. Micronutrients are our vitamins and minerals and macronutrients are where our calories come from. The three types of macronutrients are fat, carbohydrates and proteins.

Many people think that all fats are bad and recently started thinking all carbohydrates are bad too. That leaves us with just protein. If this were the case, our diets wouldn’t be very enjoyable. Fortunately not all fats are bad and the same goes for carbohydrates.

With all the negative publicity recently, you might be afraid to eat any carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are our main fuel source. Our brain can’t use anything else to power itself with and our muscles will work the best on it. Don’t deprive yourself of it. Carbohydrates that you should stay away from are simple sugars that are found in candy, sodas and many snacks. Good carbohydrates such as whole wheats and fruits will keep you energized throughout the day and avoid sugar highs and lows.
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