To define heart health, it would be useful to first touch upon what heart diseases mean and their scope.
Heart diseases in general; These are diseases that occur due to the heart and blood vessels. If we consider this definition more locally, cardiovascular diseases; We can define it as conditions that include coronary heart diseases, heart failure, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart diseases, congenital heart diseases and cardiomyopathies. Although their medical names may seem foreign, these diseases, which we encounter frequently and are actually somehow familiar with in daily life, will guide us on what a healthy heart structure should be like. For example, coronary heart diseases are the name given to the arteries that surround the heart and provide nutrition, and these heart diseases occur due to reasons such as nutritional disorders, excessive fatty diet, and living a sedentary life. Peripheral artery diseases are disorders that occur in the arteries that go to all tissues and organs except the heart. The basis of these diseases are narrowings that occur due to nutrition (for example, cholesterol-related) and insufficient blood flow to the area fed by the vein.
Heart health can be defined as the ability of the heart and blood vessels to perform their functions smoothly and systematically. . For this reason, nutrition and heart health should be considered as a whole, and action should be taken by knowing the living standards that will cause dysfunctions in the heart and blood vessels.
What are the Risk Factors that Threaten Heart Health?
According to the death data presented by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), it is observed that the share of heart diseases in total deaths is increasing. Among all causes of death, deaths due to heart diseases rank first. Taking these statistical data into consideration, we can list the risk factors that threaten heart health as follows:
1) Age Factor
If we evaluate it in line with statistics, heart diseases Age factor that poses a risk for: /p>
-For men aged 45 and over,
-For women, it poses a serious threat to those aged 55 and over.
The age factor that threatens heart health emerges as an important factor in both men and women, but it develops later depending on gender. The development of cardiovascular diseases occurs 7 to 10 years later in women than in men.
2) Presence of Heart Disease in the Family
Heart and blood vessel diseases that threaten heart health are especially hereditary. The likelihood of having a predisposition to coronary artery disease increases, especially through first-degree relatives, before the age of 55 in men and before the age of 65 in women.
3) Use of Cigarettes or Tobacco Products
According to research conducted in 2012, it was revealed that there are more than 1 billion smokers in the world. The risks associated with tobacco use are related not only to direct smoking but also to passive smoking. In this respect, we can say that both direct smoking and passive smoking; It is an important factor leading to heart attack and arteriosclerosis.
4)Insufficient Physical Activity
Physical activity is of key importance in maintaining energy balance and weight control. Insufficient physical activity is a definition used to mean less than 30 minutes of moderate activity 5 times a week or less than 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 times a week.
All studies have shown that adequate physical activity reduces the risk of all cardiovascular diseases. It has been revealed that the level of physical activity performed is more inadequate for women as their age increases and in urban settlements.
It is possible to list the factors that threaten heart health in detail. However, basically, no factor alone constitutes a large risk ratio, and nutritional factors have a significant impact on the basis of all risk factors. In this respect, the effects of nutrition on heart health based on a few basic factors we have listed. It is useful to mention the positive and negative factors.
Heart Health and Nutrition
Cholesterol; It is one of the most important risk factors for heart health. Cholesterol is fat-like substances found in the cell membranes of the body tissues of animals and therefore found in foods of animal origin. Cholesterol is divided into two: good and bad cholesterol. Good cholesterol, also known as HDL cholesterol, is the cholesterol found only in the body and not in foods. HDL is called good cholesterol because it collects the cholesterol formed in the tissues and ensures that it is excreted. According to research, good cholesterol level below 40mg/dl is an important risk factor for heart health. Bad cholesterol, also known as LDL cholesterol, is the type of cholesterol that carries cholesterol to the tissues and causes it to accumulate in the arteries and other cardiovascular vessels, taking its name from this feature. According to research, having bad cholesterol in the body above 130 mg/dl is one of the factors that seriously affects heart health. In general, total cholesterol in the blood above 200 mg/dl is an important factor that threatens heart health. In this regard, for all these reasons we have mentioned, eating habits that will increase cholesterol in our body should be avoided.
Saturated fat rate; The fact that the consumed foods are rich in saturated fat content also poses a threat to heart health. In this regard, all dishes should be cooked using olive oil, but even though it is healthy, it is necessary to be careful about its amount.
Care should be taken to consume whole grain foods; Dark bread containing whole grains should be consumed instead of white bread. In nutrition; Food groups such as oats, rye, barley and grain groups such as legumes should not be missed, because these foods contain high mineral, vitamin and fiber contents, and these contents also positively affect heart health.
The immune system should be supported through nutrition; foods rich in vitamins and minerals, according to the season and Consuming the amount that meets the need for ut strengthens the immune system and positively affects heart health.
Care should be taken not to consume very fatty meat and not to consume red meat more than twice a week. Care should be taken to consume mostly white meat and fish as they are rich in omega 3.
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