If parents have high cholesterol … Risks to your child’s cardiovascular health

Sweet, salty and fatty foods are the main causes of high cholesterol levels. Foods that increase cholesterol levels have negative health effects, such as increasing body weight and causing metabolic syndrome, but it is not easy to give up these exciting and delicious foods.

However, if you are planning to have children, you may need to control the food you eat. This is because research results have been published showing that parents’ cholesterol levels affect their children’s chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is known to be fatal to health, accounting for 13% of global mortality and the second leading cause of death among Koreans.

Caution is needed because cardiovascular health conditions of parents can be passed on to their children | Source: Getty Image Bank
Daughter of a father who eats a lot of cholesterol … Risk of developing arteriosclerosis 3 times higher
According to a study introduced on September 11 in JCI Insight, an international medical journal, it was found that the daughters of men who ate a lot of cholesterol were at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The ribonucleic acid (RNA) in men’s sperm changes in response to changes in the environment, such as poor diet, environmental toxins, and stress, and is passed down from generation to generation.

A joint research team from the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside), the University of Nevada (UNLV), and the University of Utah (The U) conducted an experiment using mice. Male mice were divided into two groups; one group was given a regular balanced diet, while the other group was given more cholesterol, leading to hyperlipidemia and high blood pressure. After that, both groups of mice were bred with healthy female mice, and the newborn pups were fed a low-fat diet with a low risk of high cholesterol.

As a result, the probability of developing arteriosclerosis was up to three times in the offspring of male mice fed a high-cholesterol diet compared to the offspring of mice fed a normal diet. However, this result was only found in girls, and no significant difference was seen in boys.

Regarding the results of the study, the research team said, “We confirmed that ‘non-regulatory small RNA molecules’ caused mutations in the sperm of mice that ate a high-fat diet of the components involved in the regulation gene and cell function “If a mutation occurs, it interferes with the expression of normal genes in the cells of the embryo immediately after fertilization,” he explained.

Parents’ physical characteristics and lifestyle habits affect the child’s cardiovascular health status
Another domestic study published last January found that parents’ cardiovascular health management status had a significant impact on their children’s cardiovascular health, even after birth. As a result of a research team at Yonsei University College of Medicine analyzing 1,267 couples and 1,567 of their adult children (748 sons and 819 daughters) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014 to 2021, the results showed that if parents’ cardiovascular health symptoms are poor, their children’s cardiovascular health symptoms tend to be poor as well.

At this time, the cardiovascular health indicators in this study were based on the ‘7 cardiovascular health indicators (CVH)’ provided by the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2010. There are three physical indicators in CVH, giving a – included blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar, and four lifestyle practices, including physical activity, normal weight, smoking cessation, and a balanced diet.

The study found that if one parent had abnormal cardiovascular health symptoms, the child was more than 3.5 times more likely to have poor cardiovascular health symptoms than if the child had no abnormal cardiovascular health symptoms. Specifically, the father’s health status showed a significant relationship with his daughter’s cardiovascular health symptoms, while the mother’s cardiovascular health symptoms were more closely related to her son’s symptoms.

However, the three physical indicators (blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar) were proven to have a significant impact on all parent-child relationships, regardless of gender.

Professor Kim Hyeon-chang, who led the research, said, “Children observe and learn ‘health behaviour’ from their parents in the family environment, especially during childhood, and this can be directly reflected in their growth process. ” Assess the level of health of each member of the family, “There is a need to develop strategies at the family level to prevent disease and promote health,” he advised.

You have to get into the habit to protect your cardiovascular health … How to eat health functional foods
Since the lifestyle habits of parents can affect the health of their children, it seems important to improve lifestyle habits to prevent early cardiovascular disease. Since 2008, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has been implementing the ‘Nine Life Rules for the Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Diseases’ and recommending their implementation.

Below are 8 of the top 9 lifestyle rules recommended by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency that are related to cardiovascular disease.

1. I don’t smoke.
2. Avoid drinking alcohol as much as possible.
3. Eat an adequate amount of regular, balanced, and salty food, and eat plenty of whole grains, vegetables, beans and fish.
4. Exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes a day and reduce the amount of time you spend sitting for long periods of time.
5. Maintain an appropriate weight and waist circumference.
6. Manage stress well and live a happy life.
7. Regularly measure blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.
8. Patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, and dyslipidemia improve their lifestyle habits and receive appropriate care and treatment regularly, including medication.

“If you eat a high proportion of saturated fatty acids or carbohydrates in your daily diet, oil can easily accumulate in the blood vessels, which can cause cardiovascular disease,” said Lim Chae-yeon, a nutrition at Hidoc Nutrition Consulting.

If it is not easy to restrict your diet, one way is recommended to eat health functional foods that are high in unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. In particular, ingredients that regulate blood vessel health and improve neutral fat and cholesterol levels have been included, including borage oil, spirulina, probiotics, omega 3, ginkgo biloba extract, aronia, moringa , and nattokinase.

Help = Nutritional counseling Hidoc Lim Chae-yeon (nutritionist)