When it comes to heart health, there is always a struggle to give up popular food trends. This, and how blueberries can be your heart savior.
‘People who avoid eating meat have lower chances of heart disease.’ It is the most popular understanding among health enthusiasts around the world. Prestigious institutions that perform research on medicine, health and people’s lifestyle, like Harvard Medical School, conducted a study revealing that ‘ a vegan diet may help lower heart-damaging inflammation more than the diet which includes lean poultry, fish, and low-fat dairy products.
A study published in the Journal of the American Health Association, which lends further support for the benefits of vegan or plant-focused diets. According to a Harris Interactive polls commissioned by a nonprofit organization, around 6 to 8 million adults in the United States don’t eat meat, seafood or poultry products.
That’s not all! AHA journal Circulation gathered and analyzed the data of approximately 48 percent of people with a history of cardiovascular disease.
The majority of the time that we spend on the internet trying to learn about the occurrence of different cardiovascular diseases, or to find out the latest heart disease treatments or the measures that can protect our heart health, we often encounter one common belief – that vegans have the highest resistance to heart diseases and it is consumption of meat that makes us weak at heart. And yet, here we are.
These studies conclude and indicate poor diet habits that explain poor heart health. But the question is, which way should we go with our diet – vegan, not vegan or no meat?
Whatever the diet we decide, it is quite clear that depriving our bodies of essential vitamins, proteins, and other components like iron and sulfur, are the route cause of all kinds of cardiovascular diseases.
How Can We Ensure That Our Heart is Healthy?
Blueberries, also known as the carriers of one of the most powerful antioxidants. Some medical studies indicate their strong capabilities to improve cardiovascular health. These studies were carried out on people who had a history of heart diseases.
One such study was presented in the editor’s choice article published by the American journal of clinical nutrition. It mentions that eating blueberries daily can improve your cardiovascular health marginally and can reduce any risk of heart disease by 15%.
Berries (all types – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, etc.) are the most loved fruit. They are also a rich source of flavonoids, which give these fruits their color. Flavonoids, also the potent antioxidants, are plant chemicals and the largest group of phytonutrients. They are known to reduce risks of cancer, heart disease, asthma, and stroke.
Factors that contribute to heart diseases and can increase the risk of elevating existing poor cardiovascular health-
- High pressure of blood against arteries, commonly known as high blood pressure
- Low levels of High – Density Lipoproteins Cholesterol (also called the good cholesterol)
- Elevated levels of sugar or glucose in the blood
- High levels of triglycerides, which are the main constituent of body fat.
The study further elaborates that including blueberries in your daily meals can efficiently combat the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a very common occurrence that directly affects heart health. It is a combination of different ailments – diabetes, high blood pressure, low levels of good cholesterol and obesity.
Does quantity matter?
Certainly, yes! Including blueberries in your diet doesn’t mean that eating a blueberry cupcake in an afternoon snack or having a smoothie with 2 tablespoons full of blueberries will be enough.
The top interventional cardiology experts suggest the intake of one bowl or 175 grams of blueberries in the daily diet for increasing high – density lipoprotein that carries cholesterol in the bloodstream, which has the highest potential to improve vascular function.
Interventional Medicine for Cardiovascular Care and Health Management
It is important to follow and analyze the studies and research papers published by leading institutes around the globe, as they hold the key to a more efficient and practical future of medicine. It is equally important to know about practices that override surgical treatment plans.
Such practices are called interventional medicine. This medicine is specifically effective in managing vascular health. The advancements in technology have enabled medical service providers to exercise non – invasive methods to cure diseases and ailments.
One of the most prominent centers for cardiovascular disease treatment in Brooklyn, Artisans of Medicine, offers interventional care for cardiovascular diseases. It involves imaging technologies and advanced mechanical devices such as preventative cardiac care, cardiac diagnostic imaging, echocardiogram, stress testing, Holter Monitoring, angiograms, stenting, and much more. Contact us to get a consultation with our highly skilled cardiac specialists today!
