Save your heart! Stop eatingting this 4 foods that damage the heart

 

Save Your Heart! Stop Eating These 4 Foods That Damage The Heart

EdwinKenechukwu
Sep 13, 2020 5:11 AM

Have you ever asked yourself these 4 simple questions; am I still healthy? Are there anything that I am doing, that is badly affecting my overall health and wellness? What of the foods I eat, are they healthy to my body? Do I need to make some lifestyle or food adjustment to ensure that I remain in good health? All these questions are very simple, but they always prove tricky and difficult to answer for a lot of people. As for you, no matter your answer or opinion to those questions, one thing is certain "YOUR HEALTH IS IN YOUR HANDS"

The human HEART is one organ that needs special care and attention. Almost all the activities of the body centers in it, likewise kidney and liver. The functions of human heart are numerous; starting from pumping and ensuring the circulation of blood round the body to controlling the activities of other organs of the circulatory system. If anything should happen to your body, let it not be your heart. All the activities of the body can shut down because of failure of heart to do its work, great damage can be seen within seconds. It is therefore pertinent that heart should be maintained as required.

This article presents us with a nice opportunity to identify some common foods we eat, which are very harmful to our heart. It goes on to enlist some early signs of heart problems and what we can do to ensure healthy heart. It is therefore required of you to pay good attention to this article, read in-between the lines, to enable you learn something that will improve your health forever.

What are the early signs of heart problems?

In a normal, heart diseases usually develop very slowly and difficult to discover early enough. As a result of that so many people who suffer from heart problems only discover when the damage has been done, and in that situation, it proves very hard to treat or manage. But yet there are little signs that manifest, which one can easily use to detect heart problems. They are listed below :

1. Frequent slight chest pain or discomfort (angina pectoris)

2. Occasional nausea and vomiting

3. Lightheadedness and symptoms of dizziness 

4. You get easily fatigued, even when not doing hard work

5. Slight but visible swelling of legs, ankles and toes

6. Irregular heart beat (arrhythmia), fast or slow heartbeat (deviation from normal heart beat rate)

7. Pain in the chest spraids to jaw and throat

8. You experience choking sensation occasionally

9. Difficulty in breathing, which sometimes comes with persistent cough

10. The loudness of the sound of heartbeat might increase

11. Sudden snoring during sleep

12. Aching in the shoulder and chest

13. Shortness of breath

Some heart problems you should be aware of

There are so many heart conditions which have been recorded over the years, and it seems like new ones are still being discovered. Some are chronic (last over a long period of time) while some are acute (very short and brief). It is pertinent that they are well known, so that better preventive measures can be put in place. See some of the heart problems below:

1. Congenital Heart diseases -

these are the type of heart conditions that are present from birth. They are not influenced by the environment and mostly develop when the child is still in the womb, and as a result of nature, or circumstances surrounding the lifestyle of mother during pregnancy. Examples :

*Septal defect - hole between the two chambers of the heart, which obstructs normal pumping and flow of blood.

*Obstruction defect - in this condition, blood cannot flow freely round the body, because some valves are partially or completely blocked.

*Cyanotic heart disease (CHD) - a condition whereby any defect in the heart or other circulatory organ leads to shortage of oxygen round the body.

2. Heart attack (Myocardial infarction) -

in this condition there is an interrupted flow of blood (caused by partial or complete blockage of a valve) which lead to damage of heart cells and muscle, which ultimately ends in heart failure (if no care is given).

3. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) -

it is mostly caused by increase in the level of cholesterol in the body. When this happen the coronary arteries which supply the heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients are damaged, thus leading to unavailability of oxygen to the heart.

4. Hypertension (high blood pressure) -

this condition normally result when blood start experiencing difficulty in passing through valves, as a result of their gradual narrowing, the heart is forced to work harder and more pressure is applied to the blood. When the blood pressure becomes very high, it can lead to heart attack, heart failure or stroke.

5. Aortic valve stenosis and cardiomyopathy -

The former happens when the blood arteries becomes extremely narrow, and obstruct the flow of blood to and from the heart, while the latter happens when the (myocardium) heart muscles are damaged, as a result of lack of oxygen and inability of blood to pump blood properly.

What are those foods that affect the heart badly?

Foods and environment contribute in a big way towards maintaining or destroying human health. It is worthy to note that as much as foods are meant to give the body strength as well as maintain its health, there are some certain foods which when eating often, can damage the heart in unprecedented ways. For you to ensure that your health stays high, you must identify these 4 Foods discussed below and try as much as possible to curtail the way you eat them, or stay away from them if possible.

1. Deep-fried chickens or meats 

Some people are fond of over frying their meats when cooking , especially chickens. They believe that those ones taste better and are better enjoyed. They tend to forget that frying most of foods that are consumed, are not healthy to the body, not to mention deep frying them.

Deep-frying chickens adds a lot of sodium, fats and calories to them, which might increase the level of cholesterol in the body, thereby leading to heart disease. People who have got accustomed to consuming deep-fried meat are at higher risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. To be in a safer side, learn to fry your meat mildly, or better still only boil them.

2. Foods which contain excessive amount of salt

Salt is very vital in food, it gives it taste and makes it less nauseating. But great caution should be observed in the amount of salt used in cooking, salt can damage the heart valves and muscles in a big way. Salt has the tendency of narrowing the blood arteries, veins and capillaries, making it hard for blood to flow easily, in that circumstance hypertension is developed.

Adding extra salt to the body is also very bad, as the salt has not been cooked which might incure a very big damage to the heart. Rapid increase in the level of salt (sodium) in the body can result to heart attack or failure or sudden death. It is very pertinent that salt are used with caution, as far as foods are concerned. It must also be cooked before use.

3. Soda, alcohol and carbonated drinks

Carbon, alcohol and soda are not good for the body. Alcohol is a big toxin to the heart, it has a high tendency of damaging the kidney and the liver (when taking excessively), which might inadvertently affect the heart too. Also, carbonated drinks and soda when taking frequently, gradually weaken the heart muscle, and on the long run, enough oxygen might stop flowing to the heart, which results to so many heart conditions.

Learn to stay aware from these 3 substances listed above, if you're to ensure your heart stays healthy. Those substances should be a no-go-area as far as heart health is concerned, but if you must take them, try to make it minimal. Your heart condition will get better once you start staying away from those substances.

4. Foods rich in butter/margarine

Are you fond of adding excess butter to salad, or enjoy eating bread and butter every morning? That habit is very bad as those foods contain very high amounts of saturated fats and oils, which might hyke the level of blood cholesterol and ultimately damage the heart.

If you want your heart to last long, you must not consume foods rich in fat frequently. Unpasteurized milks, yogurt, meats, cheese etc are all rich in fats and oil, and its intake should be minimized accordingly. Cholesterol levels play a pivotal role in keeping or destroying the heart, and therefore any food that may increase it, should be avoided.

What are the things you should start doing to improve your heart health?

1. Daily exercise

2. Ensure you always have enough night rest

3. Avoid too much stress

4. Cultivate the habit of eating fruits

5. Eat more of vegetables and natural foods.

6. Stop sitting or standing for a long time, always take a work at intervals

7. Take one to two cups of water every morning

8. Avoid smoking or alcohol intake

9. Regular hospital check-up

10. Avoid drinking very cold water, always strike a balance

Having gotten all the information you needed, I suppose you should start practicing them. A good health is worth more than any other thing, and if we live accordingly, we need not to worry much about our health. Remember the words of hippocrates "let your food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food" 

Stay healthy for yourself and loved ones!

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