The best way to prevent angina, also known as chest pain, is to prevent or to reduce atherosclerosis, the main responsible for angina pain. As you know, atherosclerosis is the accumulation of fat in the arteries. This fat, with time, clogs the coronary arteries, the ones wrapping the heart, thus reducing the amount of blood the heart needs to work properly. This artery blockage is what causes the frightful angina pain.
So, here is what you can do to prevent or reduce angina pain:
1. Limit the amount of saturated fat you eat
There are several reasons why health authorities advice us to limit the consumption of saturated fat:
1. Saturated fat clogs our arteries. It is the most rigid of all fats and is solid at room temperature. Solid fats are hard to dissolve and can easily get stuck in our arteries.
2. Saturated fat causes the liver to overproduce cholesterol. The liver makes about 75 percent of the cholesterol our body needs from internal sources, while the remaining 25 percent comes from food. But when we eat too much saturated fat, our liver keeps producing cholesterol and we end up with much more cholesterol than we need. Limit saturated fat consumption to less than 10 percent of the total calories ingested per day.
2. Avoid foods containing hydrogenated oils or trans fats
Health authorities are concerned that the consumption of trans fats might have contributed to the 20th century epidemic of coronary heart disease.
Hydrogenated oils or trans fats as they are usually called, are produced artificially by inserting molecules of hydrogen in vegetable oils, a process called hydrogenation. Through this process, the oil, which is liquid at room temperature, changes its original form and becomes solid. In other words, it becomes saturated fat.
Trans fats destroy our body cells because the unnatural shapes of these fats cause our cells, including the heart cells, to become malformed and to malfunction. When the arteries are damaged, cholesterol attaches itself to their walls, a first step towards atherosclerosis. Read the food label and avoid products containing trans fats or hydrogenated fats. Example of foods that contain these harmful fats are:
1. Industrial bakery such as cookies, donuts, croissants, cakes, and the like
2. Solid margarine
3. Fried fast food
3. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
We know that people who consume plant foods regularly have a lower incidence of atherosclerosis than those who do not include them in their diet, which translates into less episodes of angina pain.
Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, nonnutritive chemicals found in plant foods that protect their host plants from infections and microbial invasions. Recently, however, we have learned that phytochemicals are also crucial in protecting humans against many diseases, including heart disease. Among the functions phytochemicals perform in our bodies are:
* They act as antioxidants
* They keep the walls of small blood vessels healthy
* They make our small blood vessels stronger
* They prevent platelets from becoming sticky and piling up
* They block specific enzymes that raise blood pressure. Include about 9 portions of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet.
Keep in mind, however, that in addition to following a healthy diet, other factors may contribute to angina pain. Here are a few guidelines:
Avoid too much stress
Have you ever felt strong headaches, muscle pain, anxiety, insomnia, and tiredness? If you identify yourself with some of these symptoms, you body may be going through an excess of tension. Nowadays, 80 percent of the population suffers from some kind of symptoms caused by stress which many times end up in illnesses such as high blood pressure. High blood pressure damages the arteries and the heart muscle, leading to angina pain.
Trying to cover on a daily basis more tasks than you physically can handle may be one of the major contributors to your stress. It could be that one of the reasons why you succumb to disease easily is the level of stress in your life since tension reduces your capacity of adaptation to your environment. You need to learn how to surround yourself with peace and serenity.
Don't drink too much alcohol
Avoid high alcohol consumption. 5 to 7 percent of the hypertension we see in people is due to high alcohol intake. The Health World Organization estimates that almost 2/3 of strokes and 50 percent of heart attacks are caused by high blood pressure. Limit your alcohol intake to two small glasses of wine a day if you are a male and one small glass a day if you are a female.
You need to walk
For years, health professionals had examined the association between exercise and the risk for heart failure. The findings consistently reveal that people who are physically active have half the risk for angina pain and heart attacks than people who are not active. Those studies show also that at least 30 minutes of moderate walking, on most days of the week, is sufficient to reduce the risk of angina pain.
Keep in mind that the heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle in the body, it becomes stronger the more you exercise it. Without exercise, it loses muscle fibers and becomes weak until it is unable to do its job. And the last thing we need is a heart that can't do its job. Walking has the following direct effects on the heart muscle:
1. It strengthens the heart so it can pump more blood with fewer beats
2. Lowers blood pressure by increasing the diameter of the arteries
3. Lowers "LDL", the bad cholesterol
4. Increases "HDL", the "good" cholesterol
5. Decreases triglycerides
6. Decreases the risk of diabetes, which is a risk for heart attacks
If you smoke, quit doing it
The risk of having angina pain is about four times higher in people who smoke than in those who don't. Many of us are under the impression that the major danger from smoking is cancer but that is not quite true; smoking is the major risk factor for heart blockage, a trigger of angina. In fact, about 40% of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are due to smoking.
Smoking contributes to angina pain as follows:
* Increases blood pressure.
* The carcinogen components in tobacco damage the walls of the arteries.
* The carbon monoxide from the burning of the tobacco interferes with the blood capacity to carry oxygen to the heart.
* Smoking causes the narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to our blood vessels.
I know that to stop smoking is not a piece of cake but you have to make an effort. If you try, I am confident you'll succeed. Be strong! Look for professional help to assist you in this task. And don't get discourage if you have already tried and didn't make it. Try as many times as you can.
Final Thoughts
If you make an effort to implement a healthy diet in your life such as the Mediterranean Diet and you follow the guidelines stated in this article, you will be well ahead in the prevention of angina. And the beauty of it is that you won't be part of the yearly American Heart Association's statistics of people having angina, which as you know, may lead to a fatal heart attack.
About the Author
Emilia Klapp has a Bachelor in Nutrition Science and is certified as a Registered Dietitian by the American Dietetic Association. She is also the author of Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet. For more information on an Authentic Mediterranean Diet and to get a FREE list of the Top 10 Mediterranean Curative Ingredients, go to http://www.MediterraneanHeart.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emilia_Klapp
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