A heart attack happens when a blockage in your coronary artery causes part of your heart muscle to be starved of blood and oxygen and this process is the result of poor lifestyle decisions taken over time.
Eating an unhealthy diet is one of the primary causes of heart attacks, and certain foods, such as those high in fat, act as a catalyst that can lead to the cardiovascular complications.
The good news is, there are plenty of healthy alternatives that can offer protection against heart attacks.
READ MORE
-
How to live longer: What foods to eat to increase life expectancy
New evidence suggests one simple yet highly effective way to slash your risk of having a heart attack is to drink green tea three times a week.
The large-scale analysis, published in the the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), compared habitual tea drinkers (three or more times a week) and never or non-habitual tea drinkers (less than three times a week) and over a seven-year period.
Regular green tea consumption was linked with approximately 25 percent lower risks for incident heart disease and stroke, fatal heart disease and stroke, and all-cause death.
Coronary heart disease is the term that describes what happens when your heart’s blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries.
It is the leading cause of heart attacks and a major cause of death both in the UK and worldwide.
Commenting on the study’s findings, Senior author Dr. Dongfeng Gu, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group. Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body long-term. Thus, frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect.”
Dr. Gu noted that green tea consumption is a common practice in East Asia, with black tea less popular, which must be factored into the findings: “In our study population, 49 percent of habitual tea drinkers consumed green tea most frequently, while only eight percent preferred black tea.
“The small proportion of habitual black tea drinkers might make it more difficult to observe robust associations, but our findings hint at a differential effect between tea types.”
DON’T MISS
Heart attack: Take this supplement daily to reduce your risk suggests study [TIPS]
Heart attack: Six foods to help prevent the life-threatening condition [TIPS]
Heart attack: Best diet to protect against the life-threatening condition [TIPS]
The findings are the latest in a long line of research that has pointed to the heart-healthy benefits of drinking green tea.
Research attributes the primary benefits to the compounds called polyphenols and catechins found in green tea.
It is believed that these plant-based compounds regulate and improve mechanisms that can lead to cardiovascular complications, such as keeping LDL cholesterol at bay.
A build-up of LDL cholesterol, a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in all the cells in your body, can clog up your arteries and this can trigger a heart attack.
READ MORE
-
How to live longer: Engaging in this activity increases life
Research also shows that green tea also dramatically increases the antioxidant capacity of the blood.
Antioxidants are compounds that are thought to play a role in protecting against heart disease by interfering with molecules known as ‘free radicals’.
Free radicals are thought to cause damage to blood vessels, which can disrupt the flow of blood to the heart – a dangerous precursor to heart disease.
Other key dietary tips
According to the NHS, it is important to avoid foods containing high levels of saturated fat, as they increase levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood.
Foods high in saturated fat include:
- Pies
- Fried foods
- Sausages and fatty cuts of meat
- Butter
- Ghee (a type of butter often used in Indian cooking)
- Lard
- Cream
- Hard cheese
- Cakes and biscuits
- Foods that contain coconut or palm oil
To stay on the safe, you should aim to follow a Mediterranean-style diet, which consists of eating more bread, fruit, vegetables and fish, and less meat, advises the NHS.
“Replace butter and cheese with products based on vegetable and plant oil, such as olive oil,” says the health site.
It adds: “Oily fish, such as herring, sardines and salmon, can form part of a Mediterranean-style diet, but there’s no need to eat this type of fish specifically to try to prevent another heart attack.”
Source: Read Full Article