Heart disease is the top cause of death in so many places across the globe. While heart disease cannot always be prevented, taking precautions like avoiding some foods might help a great deal.
Diet- and exercise-related healthy living behaviors could prevent up to 80% of heart disease-related premature deaths in Canada.
Nevertheless, for most Canadians, eating whole foods, plant-based nutrients, and foods flavored with
Up to 80% of premature deaths in Canada attributable to heart disease could be avoided by adopting healthy lifestyle habits related to diet and exercise. People across the globe can avoid fatality just by being more cautious about their lifestyles.
However, for most Canadians, processed, meat-heavy, salty, and sugary meals take precedence over consuming complete foods, nutrients from plants, and foods flavored with natural herbs. In actuality, only 11% of Canadians consistently select nutritious diets.
Do you want to maintain the health of your heart and cardiovascular system for years to come? Canada Kratom Express is here to help you with ideas for meals and snacks. At most, limit them to infrequent indulgences and, wherever possible, substitute heart-healthy alternatives.
The Food Choices That Can Save Your Life
Making subtle dietary changes can make a huge difference in your heart health. These include considering:
- Where you get your macronutrients;
- What you use to make food taste good; and
- How you use food to influence your mood.
That’s why nutritionists, cardiologists, and other healthy living experts recommend you avoid:
1. Refined Or Simple Carbohydrates
Eating refined carbohydrates increases your chances of becoming clinically obese and puts you at significant risk for diabetes and heart disease. Nevertheless, they remain the main source of dietary carbs for most people.
That’s why eating whole, unprocessed foods containing unrefined carbs — mainly natural sugars and whole grains — improves your heart health.
2. Saturated & Trans Fats (Especially In Butter Alternatives)
Use of non-dairy baking substitutes, spreads, and cooking oils is on the rise. But even as people try truly healthy alternatives (like avocado and olive oil), the availability of unhealthier options has grown, too. This includes coconut oil, which has far more saturated fat per serving than traditional options. Moreover, eating coconut oil can induce atherosclerosis — the buildup of fat, cholesterol, and other substances along arterial walls.
3. Processed Meat, Red Meat, & Animal-Based Proteins
Eating processed, salted, and red meat can raise cholesterol and increase your risk of coronary heart disease. Plus, they can cause weight gain and digestive dysfunction that further compound heart problems.
That’s why nutritionists often recommend eating plant-based protein and looking for cholesterol-lowering whey protein in your natural supplements.
Saturated fat content can vary greatly between cold cuts and cured meats like bacon and sausage. But even low-fat choices can contain a lot of salt. According to research, six thin slices of deli meat might have half the daily recommended amount of salt.
The majority of people should follow a salt-restricted diet since sodium is associated with elevated blood pressure. Patients with high blood pressure might occasionally experience dramatic changes simply by changing their diet.
4. Energy Drinks & Other Harmful Supplements
It’s important to recognize that not everything that’s supposed to make us look or feel better is made with heart-healthy ingredients. Research links both energy drinks and diet pills, for example, to heart damage.
Natural supplements made with healing plants, green foods, and natural herbs offer similar effects without the heart damage.
5. A High-Sugar Diet
Eating a high-sugar diet increases your risk of dying from heart disease. That’s true whether you get your dietary sugar from sweets, soft drinks, or alcohol. You can use natural herbs (like cinnamon, vanilla, stevia, and licorice) to add sweet flavor notes to food without stressing your heart.
6. Salt and Fats
High salt, sugar, saturated fat, and refined carbohydrate intake over time increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. You should avoid regularly consuming them if you have cardiac concerns.
But it’s better to concentrate on your total diet than to fixate on any one unhealthy dish. If you primarily consume heart-healthy fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy, you can still have these foods.
Moderate- to low-salt diets are the best option for anyone. If you’re at an elevated risk for heart failure, it’s especially important to reduce salt intake.
Luckily, it’s easy to use herbs and spices to stand in for salt while cooking. Some healing plants even provide extra health benefits on top of their salty flavor.
7. Deep-Fried Foods
The consumption of fried foods, such as French fries, fried chicken, and fried snacks, has been associated in numerous studies with an elevated risk of heart disease. Trans fats, a form of fat that has been found to boost bad cholesterol and diminish good cholesterol, are produced by conventional frying techniques.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with cooking a vegetable stir-fry at home with coconut oil and olive oil. However, foods typically associated with fried meals that aren’t made at home should be avoided.
8. Processed Snacks & Sweets
Many popular snack foods are highly processed and heavily salted or sweetened. That explains why dieticians recommend cutting chips, cookies, and cakes out altogether.
That’s not to say that all snacks and sweets are bad for you. Some foods, like dark chocolate, nuts, and seeds make good-tasting and good-for-you alternatives.
8. Food That Doesn’t Fill You Up Or Make You Feel Good
Despite the dire statistics about Canadian eating habits, things are looking up. Nearly one-third of the population is currently aiming to eat a more heart-healthy diet.
But the discomfort/dissatisfaction that comes from eating too little and/or forcing yourself to eat food you don’t enjoy makes heart-healthy living hard. That’s why it’s important to explore filling and flavorful heart-healthy options. Simply (and strictly) depriving yourself of enjoyable food just won’t do it!
9. Soda and Soft Drinks
Small amounts of added sugar are not hazardous, but a can of soda has more added sugar than is healthy for an entire day, according to scientists. Soda drinkers are more prone to weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
And although the science surrounding diet drinks is still hazy, some study has connected them to weight gain and strokes. Water that is simple, carbonated, or flavorless is your best option.
10. Candies
Fat was long considered the main dietary contributor to heart disease. But according to a paper in JAMA Internal Medicine, studies supported by the sugar industry were mostly to blame for spreading that notion.
Now, researchers warn that diets high in added sugar may pose an even greater risk because they increase the risk of heart disease by causing obesity, inflammation, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Cardiologists are now debating sugar instead of saturated fat and cholesterol. Added sugar in any form should be avoided by anyone with heart disease or at risk of developing it.
11. Pastries and Other Desserts
Most baked products, especially those that are mass-produced commercially, are loaded with sugar and likely packed with trans fats like partly hydrogenated vegetable oil or saturated fats like butter or palm oil. You have two components that combine to give a person the worst nutritional profile imaginable.
12. Alcohol
Unless you have high blood pressure or high triglycerides, a form of blood fat that can increase your risk of heart disease, moderate drinking won’t hurt your heart. On the other side, excessive alcohol use can cause weight gain, heart failure, high blood pressure, and strokes. So don’t start drinking if you don’t already.
13. Ice-Creams
Save ice cream for exceptional occasions only because it is high in calories, sugar, and saturated fat. Foods high in fat and sugar make you gain weight. Additionally, it can raise triglycerides and cause a heart attack.
You can reduce your calorie and fat intake by selecting sorbet, low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurt, or frozen fruit bars. The least amount of sugar and saturated fat can be seen on the label.
What is Kratom?
According to notable sources such as Mayo Clinic, kratom leaves are used as a recreational drug and as medicine. At low doses, kratom acts as a stimulant, similar to drinking coffee or energy drinks. Except kratom is a natural alternative to these other supplements. At higher doses, it reduces pain and offers feelings of euphoria. At very high doses, it acts as a sedative, making users quiet and perhaps sleepy.
At Canada Kratom Express, we believe in doing research prior to testing new health supplements. Whether that’s kratom, CBD, or multi-vitamins — always do your research!
Final Word…
Despite the dismal statistics on Canadian dietary practices, things are improving. Currently, about one-third of people want to follow a diet that is better for their hearts.
However, leading a heart-healthy lifestyle is challenging due to the discomfort and dissatisfaction that result from eating too little or forcing yourself to consume foods you don’t like. Investigate heart-healthy options that are satiating and tasty. It won’t work to simply and strictly deny yourself delicious meals.
Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, poultry, and vegetable oils are the greatest foods to include in a diet to avoid heart disease. Alcohol should only be used in moderation, if at all.
Strong research provides for the connection between these practices and risk reduction. An active lifestyle can reduce your risk of developing coronary artery disease by over 80%, ischemic strokes by 50%, sudden cardiac deaths by 80%, and heart disease-related untimely deaths by 72%.
Put another way, leading a healthy lifestyle is a wise investment in living longer and healthier.
