AT THE SUPERMARKET the shopping list must speak clearly: we leave snacks, sweets, sugary drinks on the shelves and make room in our trolley for healthy foods, such as fruit, vegetables, fish and cereals. Because heart health also depends on proper nutrition. Just think, in fact, that more than two thirds of deaths due to heart disease, equal to about 6 million deaths, could be prevented with healthy foods. This was confirmed by researchers from Central South University, in China, in a study just published in the European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), according to which an unhealthy diet is the main factor risk of death from heart disease, even more influential than hypertension and high cholesterol.
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Prevention
The analysis reveals that poor diets, hypertension and high levels of cholesterol in the blood are the three main causes of death from heart attack and angina, diseases that go under the name of ischemic heart disease. As for nutrition, advises study author Xinyao Liu, “we should consume 200 to 300 milligrams of omega 3 fatty acids daily. In addition, we should take 200-300 grams of fruit, 290-430 grams of vegetables, 16 -25 grams of nuts and 100-150 grams of whole grains “. To avoid millions of deaths worldwide, therefore, one should reduce the consumption of processed foods, sugary drinks, saturated fats, limit the amounts of salt and sugar, and instead increase the intake of fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts and Whole grains. “Fats are at the top of the list of bad, followed by excess salt and carbohydrates. Even desserts are to be hired with extreme moderation ”, comments Ciro Indolfi, president of the Italian Society of Cardiology. It is necessary, underlines the expert, to make people understand the importance of a diet rich in vegetables, fish, fruit, nuts or almonds and whole grains. “Fruits and vegetables contain fiber, potassium and other micronutrients, such as antioxidants, which offer protection against heart disease,” recalls the expert. “As well as oily fish, which contains omega-3 fatty acids capable of reducing triglycerides and which has other beneficial effects on the heart”.
Cardiopatie ischemiche
In the new study, the researchers reviewed data from the 2017 Global Burden of Disease Study, carried out in 195 countries between 1990 and 2017. The analysis found that in 2017, 126.5 million people suffered from ischemic heart disease. Also in the same year, 10.6 million new cases and 8.9 million deaths were recorded, equal to 16% of all deaths (compared to about 12% in 1990). “This study first of all demonstrates that ischemic heart diseases, angina and heart attack, still represent a great problem and a challenge for public health today”, comments Indolfi. “Worldwide, more than 125 million people live with ischemic heart disease and nearly 9 million die from this disease each year. These data impose the need, even in Italy, to implement easily feasible and effective prevention strategies to reduce what can be called “avoidable deaths”. To live long and healthy, the expert points out, it is necessary to correct the risk factors that can be modified. And this latest study found that nutrition ranks first among modifiable risk factors, followed by increased blood pressure and increased cholesterol levels. “The important message is that changing your lifestyle, especially eating healthy, extends your life”, underlines Indolfi.
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The importance of nutrition
In the study, the researchers calculated the impact of 11 death risk factors for ischemic heart disease including poor diet, hypertension, high levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and blood sugar, alcohol and smoking consumption, mass index high body, air pollution, kidney dysfunction, lead exposure and a sedentary lifestyle. Assuming all of these risk factors remained the same, the researchers calculated that 69.2% of deaths from ischemic heart disease worldwide could be prevented if healthier diets were followed. “A wrong diet rich in saturated fats tends to increase LDL cholesterol, which leads to the formation of plaques in the arteries,” explains Indolfi. “Unsaturated fats, present in industrially produced sweet and savory snacks, also have a deleterious effect on our arteries. A high-salt diet is also linked to hypertension, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Finally, an excess of sweets and carbohydrates is responsible for obesity and diabetes ”.
The other risk factors
There are other modifiable risk factors, i.e. those that can be corrected hypertension, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, air pollution, depression and a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, the analysis showed that 54.4% of deaths from ischemic heart disease could be avoided if the systolic blood pressure were kept at 110-115 mmHg, 41.9% if the bad cholesterol values remained in the range between to 0.7-1.3 mmol / L, and again about 25.5% if the fasting glycaemia was between 4.8-5.4 mmol / L. “As regards physical activity, it should be remembered that ‘Italy is a country of lazy people and in Europe we are in the last places in the prevalence of sedentary lifestyle, a very alarming figure given that 9% of deaths are attributable to physical inactivity ”, comments Indolfi. In conclusion, ischemic heart diseases are largely preventable by adopting healthier behaviors. “We must learn to change our eating habits, which are also the result of the education and habits we live in our family”, comments the expert. “The practical advice mainly concerns a first phase of awareness of what we eat daily. It is necessary to take a picture of the characteristics of the food we consume, perhaps doing a personal survey for a week, writing down everything we assume. Then, with the help of an expert, the type of food can be remodeled by eliminating the wrong ones and favoring the healthy ones. For those who are overweight or with blood sugar changes, for example, it will be necessary to reduce carbohydrates (pasta and bread) and eliminate sweets ”. The quantity of portions is another element to always keep in mind. “For example, fruit is certainly good for you, but its excess is inadvisable, especially in obese or diabetic subjects”, concludes Indolfi.
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