8 dietary tips to prevent cardiovascular disease, but many people don't follow them

A friend chatted with Huazi and asked a question. Cardiovascular disease now has the greatest impact on human life expectancy. Huazi is a pharmacist and guides everyone on how to use medicine every day. Is there any way to prevent cardiovascular disease without taking medicine?

Hua Zi said that although cardiovascular disease is a problem of the circulatory system, it is ultimately closely related to our daily lifestyle and eating habits. Hua Zi once talked with a cardiologist about the prevention of diseases. The expert told Hua Zi 8 "dietary secrets for disease prevention" that can effectively prevent the occurrence of diseases, but many people cannot do so.

1. Eat a variety of foods. To stay healthy, you need to eat a variety of foods. The "abundant" here does not mean eating a lot, but a variety of foods. For humans, there is no food that must be avoided. You need to eat a little bit of everything to ensure a balanced nutrition.

It is recommended to eat more than 12 kinds of food every day and more than 25 kinds of food every week. This can ensure the intake of trace elements such as calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, C, K, B group, and folic acid. Providing the body with comprehensive nutrition is the basis for maintaining health.

2. Balance eating and exercise. Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Obesity itself can also be regarded as a metabolic disorder. The reason why people get fat is that they eat too much and exercise too little.

In fact, we are not afraid of eating too much, as long as we can consume it. For example, athletes and manual workers need to supplement a lot of calories every day, otherwise their physical fitness will decline.

While we ensure a comprehensive nutritional intake, we will also consume a large amount of calories, so we must also ensure sufficient exercise to consume excess calories and avoid excess nutrients turning into fat.

3. Eat less refined carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are commonly known as sugars. Foods rich in starch, such as rice, noodles and other staple foods, are all carbohydrate foods. Glucose decomposed from carbohydrate foods is the main energy supply for humans. We cannot completely quit carbohydrates, but we should choose carbohydrate foods that decompose slowly.

Refined rice and flour in carbohydrate foods are easily digested and absorbed, and the speed of breaking down into sugar is too fast, which will cause harm to the body. It is recommended to replace one-third of the staple food with whole grains such as oats, brown rice, corn, beans, etc. Eating whole grain foods with a low glycemic index will make the body healthier.

4. Choose high-quality protein. The amino acids needed by the human body need to be obtained from the decomposition of proteins from the outside world. There are two sources of protein. One source is animal protein, such as lean meat of animals, including red lean meat of pigs, cattle, and sheep; as well as white meat of poultry and aquatic products, as well as milk and eggs. The other source is plant protein, mainly beans and bean products.

Each person needs about 1.5g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. It is recommended that animal protein and plant protein each account for half. Among animal proteins, it is recommended that red meat account for one-third, white meat account for one-third, and eggs and milk account for one-third. However, people with poor kidney function need to control their protein intake under the guidance of a doctor.

5. Oils that need to be limited Oils are fats. For health, you need to eat oils, but the total amount of oils should be limited. Many people think that eating oils is unhealthy, so they "avoid oils" in their diet. This is not scientific, because many nutrients are fat-soluble and can only be absorbed when there is oil in the diet. If there is no oil in the diet, malnutrition is more likely to occur.

When choosing oils, it is recommended to use vegetable oils, such as soybean oil and olive oil, which are high in unsaturated fatty acids and have certain benefits for the body. However, animal oils are high in saturated fatty acids, which are harmful to health and are not recommended for consumption.

Be aware that fats are too high in calories and consuming too much can easily make you fat, so don’t eat too much vegetable oil, limiting it to 25 grams per day.

6. Fresh vegetables and limited fruits Many health guidelines recommend eating more vegetables and fruits. Vegetables refer to fresh vegetables, so you can eat as much as possible. Fresh vegetables are high in vitamins, while processed dried vegetables, pickled vegetables, etc., lose nutrients and may be contaminated by bacteria, and contain excess salt, so it is not recommended to eat too much.

Fruits need to be limited in quantity, about half a pound a day is fine. Although fruits are rich in vitamins, trace elements, and dietary fiber, they also contain a lot of fructose, and eating too much will cause weight gain. Therefore, fruits should not be eaten without moderation, and it is best to eat them between meals.

7. Control salt and sugar. The sodium ions in salt are a risk factor for high blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The average daily salt intake in my country is 10.5 grams, far higher than the healthy standard of 6 grams. However, the less salt, the better. Too little salt intake may lead to hyponatremia, which is also harmful to health. Therefore, it is best to control the daily salt intake between 3 and 6 grams.

For the sake of health, we must pay attention to controlling sugar intake. The sugar mentioned here does not refer to carbohydrate foods, but to the extra sugar added in food. For example, sugary foods such as cakes, biscuits, bread, or sugary drinks. The less added sugar intake, the better. The daily intake of added sugar should not exceed 50 grams.

8. Maintain a regular diet and drink less alcohol. Everyone can ensure three meals a day or two meals a day according to their own living habits. But you must maintain a regular schedule, do not overeat, and do not skip meals. It is recommended to cook your own meals as much as possible, and eat less at restaurants or order takeout. Because restaurants outside usually use a lot of oil and salt for taste, cooking by yourself is convenient to control salt and oil, and is healthier.

The world's top medical journal, The Lancet, has already stated that alcohol is harmful to the human body. When you suffer from cardiovascular disease, every drop of alcohol you drink is a sin. If you really can't control it, you must limit your drinking to no more than 25 grams of alcohol per day.

To sum up, adopting a healthy diet and controlling your mouth before you get sick can effectively prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. It is not difficult to eat healthily in a short period of time, but it is difficult to stick to it for a long time. People who already have high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, etc., need to take medicine regularly under the guidance of a doctor in addition to managing their diet to effectively prevent the occurrence of diseases. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.