Cardiovascular disease is a generic term for cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease, which refers to ischemic or hemorrhagic diseases of the heart, brain and systemic tissues caused by hyperlipidemia, blood viscosity, atherosclerosis and hypertension. Diseases occurring in the arteries of the heart are called cardiovascular diseases, mainly myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, etc. Lesions occurring in the cerebral arteries are called cerebrovascular diseases, mainly cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral thrombosis, cerebral embolism, etc.
Among the risk factors for sudden onset of cardiovascular disease, aging of blood vessels is the most fundamental cause. Once the blood vessels are aged, the elasticity will decrease, making them hard and brittle, and the endothelium is rough and uneven, which will easily cause atheromatous plaque to be deposited and attached, which will make the blood vessels more and more blocked over time, and then you will feel dizziness, chest tightness, shortness of breath, confusion, and numbness of hands and feet. In serious cases, angina, heart attack, brain infarction can easily occur, and what’s worse, blood vessel rupture, stroke and cerebral hemorrhage can easily be induced in cases of excitement, anger and joy, and sudden exertion, which can cause paraplegia and disability in mild cases, and can take away a person’s life in a few minutes in serious cases. How to effectively prevent cardio-cerebral vascular diseases and post-disease conditioning are gradually becoming a growing concern. While medication is important, there are still some simple and easy ways to achieve effective prevention and treatment as long as patients pay more attention. Next, we will introduce the three secret tricks to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
The first move – “five restrictions” to help prevent
Limit total calories: the proportion of sugar in total calories should be controlled at 60% to 70%. It is advisable to eat more coarse grains to increase the content of complex sugars and fiber.
Limit fat: The intake of fat should be limited to less than 30% of total calories, mainly vegetable fat, and appropriate lean meat, poultry and fish.
Limit cholesterol: cholesterol intake should be less than 300 mg per day, and the cholesterol in an egg is close to 300 mg. Cardiovascular patients should preferably eat half an egg per day or one egg every two days. In addition, the intake of animal offal should be especially limited because animal offal is also a high cholesterol food, especially pork loin, which contains more than 3,000 mg of cholesterol per 100 grams of pig brain.
Limit protein: daily intake of protein from pasta should account for half of the body’s needs, the rest of the protein can be obtained from milk, yogurt, fish and soy products, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular patients daily intake of protein to no more than 1 gram per kilogram of body weight is appropriate.
Limit salt: The average salt intake of our residents is currently above 10 grams, and the World Health Organization recommends that we consume 6 grams of salt per day, and for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular patients, the daily intake of salt should be strictly controlled at less than 5 grams. Especially in autumn and winter, sweating less, the corresponding reduction in activity, salt intake should be more strictly controlled.
The second trick – nine kinds of food should be eaten more
More vegetarian and less non-vegetarian
Blood lipid levels are often related to each person’s lifestyle habits. It is known that vegetarians have low blood lipids, while non-vegetarians have high blood lipids and are prone to gain weight. Obese people are prone to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, so they should develop the habit of eating more vegetarian food and eat more foods that can help lower blood lipids. Vegetables containing more fiber (such as celery, leek, etc.) can help lower blood lipids, they contain a lot of vitamin C and fiber, the former can metabolize cholesterol, the latter can stop the intestinal absorption of cholesterol. Fiber also promotes peristalsis in the gastrointestinal tract to ensure proper excretion by the body.
Preferred vegetable oil for cooking
It is best to use vegetable oils such as soybean oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, canola oil, sunflower oil and corn oil for stir-frying because vegetable oils contain vegetable cholesterol and more unsaturated fatty acids, and vegetable cholesterol is not easily absorbed by the intestines. Unsaturated fatty acids can accelerate the decomposition of cholesterol and turn it into bile acids, thus lowering cholesterol. At the same time, unsaturated fatty acids can also produce prostaglandins, reduce the adhesion of platelets and have an anti-coagulant effect. Therefore, middle-aged and elderly people, especially cardiovascular patients, should eat more vegetable oils in their diets and eat as little or no animal oils as possible.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
Fresh vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. Vitamin C can lower cholesterol, but also can increase the denseness of blood vessels to prevent brain hemorrhage; magnesium can participate in the activities of the myocardial enzyme system, which has a certain protective effect on the heart.
Replace some animal proteins with soy protein
Consuming more soy protein instead of animal protein can lead to lower blood cholesterol levels. Soybean contains 40% of high-quality protein, which is two times higher than meat and eggs, three times higher than wheat, and four times higher than rice. It also contains a variety of vitamins and trace elements. Our usual diet should pay attention to the consumption of soybeans and soy products, especially the various kinds of soy products available in the market nowadays, which can be consumed appropriately.
Eat more iodine-containing foods
The iodine-containing foods include kelp, seaweed, jellyfish, shrimp, sea rice, etc. Iodine can reduce the deposition of cholesterol on the arterial walls and has the effect of preventing atherosclerosis. The seaweed is cool in nature and contains more iodine, iron, calcium, protein, starch and minerals, which have the effect of nourishing the blood and moistening the lungs and lowering blood pressure.
Eat the right amount of fish often
Fish is rich in methionine, lysine, proline and oxaline, which have the effect of improving vascular elasticity, compliance and promoting sodium excretion. In addition, most fish contain unsaturated fatty acids, which have a certain effect on the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Oysters, fresh shellfish, shrimp skin and sea shrimp can also increase coronary blood flow and reduce damage to the heart muscle. In addition, fish oil is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have the function of protecting vascular endothelial cells and reducing lipid deposition.
Eat more foods rich in arginine.
Arginine-rich foods such as sea cucumber, loach, eel and sesame, yam, ginkgo, tofu skin and sunflower seeds help regulate vascular tone, inhibit platelet aggregation and reduce vascular damage.
Eat more foods rich in folic acid.
If the diet lacks folic acid, it will increase the level of cysteine in the blood, which will easily damage the endothelial cells of blood vessels and promote the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Middle-aged and elderly people, especially cardiovascular patients, should pay attention to consume more folic acid-rich foods, such as red amaranth, spinach, lobelia, asparagus, beans, yeast and apples, oranges, etc.
Intake of more natural anticoagulant foods.
Eating black fungus can inhibit platelet aggregation and prevent the formation of blood clots. Garlic, onions, green onions, chrysanthemum, shiitake mushrooms, lobelia and strawberries, pineapples, oranges, red grapes, etc. also have some anticoagulant effect.
The third trick – six kinds of snacks are beneficial
Sunflower seeds: 60 grams of sunflower seeds is a good small meal of protein. Sunflower seeds can be washed, shelled and eaten directly, or added to cold dishes and served with malt oil poured over them.
Hawthorn: Hawthorn contains hawthorn acid, citric acid, lipolytic enzymes, vitamin C, flavonoids, carbohydrates and protein, etc. It has the functions of dilating blood vessels, improving microcirculation, lowering blood pressure, promoting cholesterol excretion and lowering blood lipids, etc. Eating hawthorn or hawthorn products often has certain benefits for patients with high blood pressure and high blood lipids, etc.
Walnut: Scientific research shows that walnut kernel contains vitamin B1, vitamin C, linoleic acid, etc., which can promote the transfer of cholesterol to tissues other than capillary walls. In addition, it contains walnut glycosides, which can inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine and make cholesterol excreted with feces, thus reducing the level of cholesterol in the blood.
Tea: Tea is rich in vitamin group elements. Among them, vitamin C can make cholesterol transfer from the arterial wall to the liver and then further transform into bile acid, thus lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, while preventing the occurrence of atherosclerosis because of its effect of enhancing the toughness, elasticity and permeability of blood vessels.
Rice soup: Rice soup is a trusted drink for heart patients. Take four times the amount of water used to make rice, soak the rice and water overnight and cook it. After cooking, strain the rice grains and store the rice soup in the refrigerator and drink a little throughout the day. Drink slowly, do not gulp, drink between meals for better results.
Citrus and lemon juice: Juice 12 oranges and 1 lemon together and drink. The bioflavonoids contained therein are very effective in treating heart disease (heart patients should not take too many bioflavonoid drinks, especially when taken alternately with rice soup), and also prevent capillaries from becoming too thin or brittle.
Fourth trick – five types of habits to adopt
In addition, the prevention of cardiovascular disease must develop a healthy and regular lifestyle habits. First, the diet should be moderate, not too much, nor excessive hunger; second, pay attention to dietary hygiene, diet soft and hard, hot and cold to appropriate; third, do not be partial food, pay attention to dietary diversity; fourth, regular meals, reasonable arrangement of the three meals a day; fifth, quit smoking and avoid alcohol. Through good living habits and reasonable diet regulation, we can help reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.