Did you know that certain foods and lifestyle factors can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and heart conditions like heart failure and heart attack (both forms of heart disease)?
In fact, an estimated 90% of heart disease is preventable through a healthier diet, regular exercise and stopping smoking.
That means that by making healthy tweaks, you can reduce your risk of these life-altering events and diagnoses and keep your heart healthy.
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the UK, so prioritising your heart health is a worthwhile endeavour.
At Integral Wellness, we’re here to help you know how.
You may have heard of all of these phrases used interchangeably. However, they’re subtly different.
Heart disease describes the development of plaque in the arteries leading to your heart and encompasses both heart failure and heart attack.
Heart failure happens when your heart can’t pump enough blood to the body. Meanwhile, a heart attack is caused by blocked coronary arteries that feed the heart.
Now that we’ve cleared that up…
Heart disease is caused by a buildup of plaque; a waxy substance made up of cholesterol, fatty molecules, and minerals.
Over time, plaque accumulates when your arteries are damaged by inflammation.
Several other factors play a role in deciding whether or not you get heart disease, including genetics, gender, family history, and pre-existing health conditions.
But unhealthy choices play a major role and can make a huge different to your quality of life.
Diets high in trans fats, saturated fats, sugar and carbohydrates can increase inflammation and negatively impact your cholesterol levels.
High levels of LDL cholesterol can cause Atherosclerosis (a narrowing of the arteries), but eating a diet low in added sugar and high in fibre-rich plant foods can reduce this risk.
A poor diet can also contribute to another heart disease risk factor: blood pressure.
Saturated fat and cholesterol can cause elevated blood pressure. Over time, this can damage and narrow your arteries, putting a strain on your heart and increasing your risk of heart failure.
It probably won’t come as much of a surprise that exercise can be beneficial for your heart health.
Regular exercise can lower blood pressure, reduce your cholesterol levels, and strengthen the heart muscle.
Cardiovascular exercise improves your heart’s ability to circulate blood around the body, resulting in reductions in cardiovascular risk.
Additionally, taking regular exercise is linked with improved mental health.
That’s good news for your heart health, as mental health concerns like anxiety and depression are linked with an increased risk of cardiac events. (More on that to come.)
Carrying excess weight or being obese puts extra stress on your heart. Why? Because increased body fat means an increased volume of blood in your body. That means your heart has to work harder to circulate your blood.
Over time, that can damage the heart’s chambers.
In fact, a 2018 study found that compared to people with a healthy BMI, people with obesity both had a higher risk of heart disease and were more likely to pass away from it.
Being overweight also contributes to the narrowing of your arteries and elevated blood pressure. (It’s also linked with diabetes-related heart complications.)
This is because high blood sugar levels can harm the blood vessels in and around your heart.
If you smoke, it’s time to quit for better heart health. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease as it damages blood vessels and contributes to a build-up of plaque in your arteries.
Even smoking occasionally can harm your blood vessels — and secondhand smoke damages your heart health too.
Vaping is not much better. Although there’s no tar, the nicotine can increase blood pressure and heart rate putting unnecessary pressure on your heart.
It’s easy to dismiss stress as a byproduct of our busy lives, but it can be damaging to your heart. High stress is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and mortality.
The exact reasons for this are still being studied. However, one 2017 study connected heart disease to activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain responsible for stress and fear.
Higher activity in this area correlated with an increase in white blood cell production in bone marrow, and this in turn contributed to inflammation in the arteries.
Did you know that people with diabetes may be twice as likely to have heart disease?
It’s down to the relationship between blood vessel health and blood sugar. When blood sugar levels aren’t managed, it can contribute to the formation of plaque in the blood vessels.
High blood sugar causes sugar molecules to stick to proteins and fats in your body, making your blood vessels stiff and narrow.
Then, our immune system steps in and attempts to repair inflammation and arterial damage by creating a protective layer.
This can cause problems because cholesterol in your blood vessels can get stuck to the damaged area, causing plaque to build up.
In turn, this hampers the flow of blood to the heart.
Living with depression can increase your risk of poor heart health outcomes for several reasons too.
Chronic stress and sadness may elevate your blood pressure, which — as we’ve mentioned above — can damage your arteries over time.
Additionally, people who are insulin resistant or living with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of depression too.
Depression can also increase your levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a marker for inflammation in the body.
High levels of CRP are considered a predictor of heart disease. Additionally, feeling depressed can lower your interest in exercise, an activity that is important for heart health.
It’s not always easy to spot a potential heart health problem. However, the following signs may suggest that your heart could be in better condition:
Wondering if there’s a specific diet that’s linked with improved heart health? Here are two that have solid scientific backing…
Plant-based diets are increasingly popular and research shows that vegan, vegetarian and high-fibre plant-based diets may be beneficial for heart health.
The quality of food matters though. According to research, plant-based diets that are high in processed snacks, sweetened beverages, and refined grains can increase your risk of heart disease.
A common mistake is following a vegan or vegetarian diet and eating mostly ‘beige’ foods. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, it’s important to consider all the nutrients you aren’t getting (for example, amino acids, B12, and iron).
Following a Mediterranean-style diet is shown to be beneficial for your heart health. In fact, studies suggest it could reduce heart disease risk by as much as 40%.
The Mediterranean diet is rich in heart-healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and oily fish.
It’s also typically low in ultra-processed foods, added sugar, and poor-quality processed meat — all of which can be harmful to heart health.
It’s not possible to prevent heart disease entirely but you can support your heart health by being mindful about what you eat.
Some foods you might like to include in your diet to improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risk of heart disease include:
Leafy green vegetables like broccoli, parsley, celery and kale are rich in vitamin K, which promotes proper blood clotting and protects your arteries.
Additionally, their dietary nitrate content is shown to lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, and decrease arterial stiffness.
Fibre plays a protective role when it comes to heart health.
Foods rich in fibre—like wild rice, root vegetables, and oats—are shown to reduce your risk of heart disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke.
They do this through several mechanisms. First, fibre helps lower LDL cholesterol levels by binding to it in the digestive system and reducing its absorption.
It can also help regulate blood sugar levels, keep you fuller for longer and improve blood pressure, which is essential for maintaining heart health.
Fibre also feeds the microbiome in our gut, which produces short-chain fatty acids that have been shown to help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.
Love it or hate it, oily fish is a great addition to a heart-healthy diet.
Oily fish like sardines, salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which play a protective role in the risk of developing heart disease.
Research suggests that in the long term, eating oily fish can lower levels of total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar.
If you aren’t a fan of oily fish, a high-quality* omega-3 fish oil supplement can help you get your recommended amount of Omega-3.
*Not likely to be found in supermarkets or Holland & Barrett.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 are both important dietary fats. Let’s look at Omega-3s first.
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that our bodies can’t make.
They are beneficial to us in lots of ways, including improving heart health. Omega-3s may help manage cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood pressure levels.
However, many of us aren’t getting enough Omega-3 in our diets.
In contrast, the Western Diet is typically high in Omega-6. Omega-6 fatty acids are also polyunsaturated fatty acids – and like Omega-3s they also need to be obtained from your diet.
Omega-6s mainly provide energy. However, certain Omega-6s can be pro-inflammatory. Take linoleic acid, the most common Omega 6 fat.
It can convert to arachidonic acid (AA), which produces eicosanoids that are pro-inflammatory.
When the body produces too many of these proinflammatory eicosanoids, the risk of inflammation increases.
However, some Omega-6s can be beneficial. Research suggests that Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) found in certain oils (like evening primrose and borage, for example) may reduce symptoms of inflammatory conditions.
A healthy ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is key. Research suggests that a healthy ratio is between 1-1 and 4-1.
To put that into perspective, research shows that people following a typical Western Diet consume a ratio of between 15-1 and 17-1.
You can’t reverse heart disease, but you can manage it better with lifestyle adjustments.
Likewise, living a healthier lifestyle is key to preventing it. In fact research suggests, lifestyle interventions can reduce your risk of heart disease by as much as 50%.
Need help getting your heart health and overall wellbeing back on track? We’re a team of nutritional therapists and we can help.
Book a call with a nutritional therapist and start taking control of your heart health today.
