Today’s post is about weight loss and heart disease. Even if you have no medical knowledge you certainly know about the importance of your heart to your health and life. Any disorders affecting your heart can have a huge impact on your overall health and of course on your longevity.
Considering the fact that the developed nations around the globe are observing a higher incidence of heart diseases and are at a higher risk of deaths related to cardiovascular disorders, it is very imperative to be informed in detail about it. Another equally disturbing fact is the rising incidence of obesity. Now heart diseases and obesity have been found to have a very deep connection by medical researchers and scientists and that makes it all the more important to know about both of these issues simultaneously.
Relation of Body Weight to Heart Health
While it is common place to hear medical practitioners put a lot of emphasis upon maintaining optimum body weight, it is necessary to first know exactly how your heart gets affected by your weight in order to realize the significant connection between weight loss and heart disease.
Your heart is assigned with an ever important function of pumping blood so as to deliver the life giving fluid to each and every nook and corner of your body. This heart is a strong pump because it is made up of muscles. But as with any man made pump, your heart too has a certain limit up to which it can function to the best of its ability. This limit is very closely related to a healthy body weight that is recommended / ideal for your height, age, frame and physical activity.
When you gain weight, you are increasing the body mass which needs blood supply but your heart muscles are not growing stronger to cope with this extra work. This leads to undue stress upon your heart and it has to exert itself to pump stronger in order to deliver blood to the extra mass in the body.
Relation of Food Habits and Heart Health
Another important issue while considering weight loss and heart disease is that obesity brings with it a host of other problems as well. Obese people usually follow unhealthy dietary habits, which in all probability includes junk food, foods cooked in transfats and lots of additives like sugar, salt etc. This often leads to high cholesterol levels and subsequent atherosclerosis and finally heart disease.
Thus it is very clear that the starting point is the diet. Your diet determines to large extent about the status of your overall health and your longevity.
Diet for Weight Loss and Heart Disease
There are many diets that have been recommended by medical and nutrition experts for weight loss and heart disease. Of them the most popular are the DASH diet, Ornish diet, Mediterranean diet, TLC diet, vegan diet etc.
While the characteristic features of each of them may be different, the basic premise in any diet that promises excellent heart health and optimum body weight is almost similar. Cut back on meat, especially red meat, organ meat, too much of fats, especially transfats, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, junk food, processed food etc. Try to get more of complex carbs in your diet, nuts, fish, greens, fresh and raw veggies and fruits and of course a lot of outdoor activity or exercise.