Imagine hundreds of cars zooming down an eight lane highway. One lane disappears, then another, until the same cars crawl bumper-to-bumper along a one-lane country road. That's sort of what happens when you have atherosclerosis. Your arteries, the highways of your blood, are hardening and narrowing, and the same amount of blood has to squeeze its way through a much tighter space. This clog in your arteries leads to all sorts of problems, including heart attack and stroke.
Atherosclerosis occurs when cholesterol, fats, and other substances in your blood build up in the walls of your arteries. The process may start when you are a child, but it may not become a problem until you are in your 50s or 60s. As this slime collects in your arteries, it forms plaque. Plaque can clog or completely block arteries, cutting off blood flow to your heart or brain. This is when you have a heart attack or stroke.
Too much cholesterol and triglycerides - types of fat - in your blood, high blood pressure and smoking cause the most damage to your arteries. Other risk factors for atherosclerosis include diabetes, family history of the disease, stress, obesity, and an inactive lifestyle. Men, in general, are more at risk, as are people who have an "apple" body shape - with fat gathering in the belly rather than the hips and thighs.
You can fight atherosclerosis by making good food choices. Reduce saturated fat and cholesterol from meat and whole milk dairy products and look for the following foods that lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and keep your blood flowing smoothly.
Nutritional blockbusters that fight atherosclerosis
Fish. Reel in a big oily fish and get by on the hook of atherosclerosis. Omega-3 fatty acids, the polyunsaturated types found in fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon, protect your arteries from damage.
First, omega-3 eliminates triglycerides, the fats that build up on your artery walls. It also prevents the platelets in your blood from clumping together. This way your blood stays smooth instead of sticky. Sticky blood can clot and block blood flow. Finally, omega-3s may lower blood pressure.
No wonder so many studies show that eating fish can reduce your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two fish meals per week.
You can find a form of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid in walnuts, which lower cholesterol. Other sources of omega-3s include flax seeds, wheat germ, and leafy green vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and arugula.
Garlic. Anything fish can do with garlic too. The sulfur compounds in this amazing herb not only lower cholesterol and triglycerides, but they also take care of just LDL or "bad" cholesterol and leave HDL or "good" cholesterol alone.
Garlic can also lower blood pressure so your arteries don't take as much pounding. Thanks to a substance called Ajoene, garlic prevents your blood from grumbling and clotting. One study even showed that garlic helps your aorta, the body's main artery, stay elastic as you age.
Experts recommend getting 4 grams of garlic – about one clove – in your diet each day.
Fiber. Over the course of a day, you should eat about 25-35 grams of fiber. If you do, you'll increase your overall health and give Atherosclerosis enough for a battle.
Certain types of soluble fiber, such as those in oats, barley, apples, and other fruits, lower your cholesterol levels. It works by slowing down your food as it passes through your stomach and small intestine so that your "good" cholesterol has more time to bring cholesterol through your liver and out of your body. Eating more than 25 grams of fiber each day could also reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure by 25%.
Fiber comes with an added bonus - it fills you up. After a fiber-rich meal, you feel full, so you're less likely to overeat and put on unwanted pounds. Because being overweight increases your risk of atherosclerosis and other heart problems, eating fiber could be part of an effective strategy to protectyour arteries.
You'll find fiber in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals.
Antioxidants. An unarmed intruder poses less of a threat than one with a weapon. By preventing free radicals from oxidizing LDL cholesterol, antioxidants eliminate much of the danger. Once oxidized, LDL cholesterol makes faster for your artery walls. In fact, some scientists believe that LDL cholesterol only harms you once it has been oxidized.Vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene are antioxidants. Bell peppers, oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli give you vitamin C, while carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, mangoes, and kale are full of beta-carotene. Sources of vitamin E include wheat germ, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils.
As you snack on these fruits and vegetables, you will get the added benefit of antioxidant substances called flavonoids. Resveratrol in grapes, anthocyanins in cranberry juice, and quercetin in onioLe NS, apples, and tea are some of the flavonoids that help your heart and arteries.
Monounsaturated fat. To keep your blood flowing smoothly, you may need an oil change. Olive oil, the main source of fat in the heart healthy Mediterranean diet, has mostly monounsaturated fats. This type of fat lowers "bad" cholesterol without harming "good" cholesterol. It also prevents clotting, giving your arteries even more protection.
Like fiber, monounsaturated fat also fills you up so you're less likely to overeat.
Consider switching from soy or corn oil to olive oil. After all, Greeks - even enjoying a fairly high-fat diet - rarely develop atherosclerosis.
Besides olive oil, sources of monounsaturated fats include avocados, nuts, and canola oil.
Ginger. Make your dinner a little tastier and your arteries a little healthier with this ancient spice. Ginger contains phytochemicals called gingerol and shogaol, which give it its antioxidant power.
Animal studies show that ginger not only lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but it also prevents LDL oxidation. In addition to this, ginger also prevents your blood from clotting by reducing the adhesion of your platelets.
