Posts Tagged ‘heart attack’
Mediterranean Diet Lowers Seniors Cholesterol
Image by grobery via Flickr
The popular health news reports are typically full of suggestions that are designed to lower your cholesterol. Usually they do not tell you about the form of cholesterol of LDL cholesterol that is more likely to cause the health problems that lead to heart attacks or strokes. The type of LDL cholesterol that is the deadly form is oxidized cholesterol. The oxidized cholesterol is the form that typically causes the process that leads to narrowing of the arteries that results in heart attacks or strokes later as the narrowing or clogging of the arteries increases. Seniors who are concerned about fostering their cardiovascular health want to take preemptive antiaging steps to protect their senior health. Here is the good news for seniors who have these concerns. The Mediterranean Diet provides a tasty, healthy path for seniors to preempt the development of the deadly oxidized cholesterol. The Mediterranean Diet does this through the foods that it provides. It stresses eating more vegetables, nuts, herbs, and fish. It uses virgin olive oil for cooking. It suggests eating more white meat instead of red meat or processed meat. For those who drink alcohol it recommends drinking moderate amounts of red wine. In a recent study that involved over 370 seniors, those who followed the Mediterranean Diet showed a significant decline in their levels of oxidized cholesterol compared with the seniors who just followed a low fat diet.
Is Coffee Heart Healthy?
- Image via Wikipedia
Over the past few years a number of reports have been published claiming that coffee is good for your health or not good for your health. Finally, it appears that coffee is definitely heart healthy. These positive reports at a prestigious conference have just recently been published. The studies were presented at the American Heart Association conference that was held in San Francisco this week. This is good news for seniors including both women and men, because the enemy of healthy hearts, artherosclerosis, is the number one killer in the US. Artherosclerosis actually kills over 800,000 Americans by means of heart attacks every year.
One study reported that in the matter of artherosclerosis, drinking two to three cups of coffee daily does not contribute to hardening of the arteries that leads to heart attacks which are caused by artherosclerosis. Another study showed that coffee drinking apparently lowered the risk for hospitalization for folks that suffer from abnormal heart rhythms. A third study which last for 20 years and included folks from nearly every demographic group did not find any association between coffee drinking and atherosclerosis. The group included smokers and nonsmokers, blacks and whites, and men and women. The range of coffee cups consumed by the participants ranged from zero to four cups per day. The good news for seniors is that they can enjoy drinking coffee and benefit their cardiovascular health at the same time.
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A Preventable Problem
Heart disease is the single biggest threat to human life in the Western world. Each year it takes more lives than cancer, and the irony is that it is often preventable. Although some people are genetically predisposed to develop heart disease, the problem can be avoided if people make sound, health-conscious choices. Especially for older Americans, balanced diet and exercise play a crucial role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
For many seniors, the years leading up to retirement are immensely stressful. This stress can compound itself into health issues, including cardiovascular disease. To reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, it’s best to implement a healthy eating and exercise routine. Exercise relieves stress, so in a way you’ll be killing two birds with one stone.