World Heart Day: 5 foods to add to your diet for a healthy heart
List of five simple foods that will benefit your heart.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally. More people die annually from heart-related issues than from any other cause.
To help combat the disease here are six foods that will benefit your heart.
Earlier, a report said that people with a high carbohydrate diet run the risk of dying younger compared to those consuming more fat, according to a recent study conducted by the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE).
The study also dismissed the age-old convention that low consumption of dietary fat helps keep blood cholesterol levels in check and reduce chances of heart attack.
Individuals with "highest-quality" diet, which included roughly 54 per cent of energy from carbohydrates, 28 per cent from fat, and 18 per cent from protein, had a 25 per cent lower risk of "all-cause mortality" when compared with those with a poor-quality diet, it said.
Cardiovascular disease is considered a global epidemic with 80 per cent of the burden of the illness in low-income and middle-income countries.
Seconding the findings of the PURE report, senior cardiologists from the city stressed that to keep the heart healthy, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension should be kept under control by cutting down consumption of rice, roti and breads.
The doctors also opined that saturated fats should be avoided.
"A balanced diet dictates that not more than 50 per cent of our diet should be carbohydrates and about 30-35 per cent should be fat. It is extremely crucial to limit the intake of carbohydrate, especially the refined ones, and consume healthy fat," senior interventional cardiologist of Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Suvro Banerjee, told PTI on the occasion of World Heart Day on Saturday.
Refined carbohydrates such as polished rice and sugar-based food items may not only increase blood cholesterol but also accelerate onset of diabetes, obesity and heart diseases, he said, adding dietary fat is not as bad as previously thought.
Dark chocolate: This contains cacao, which is rich in flavanols, which helps lower your blood pressure and prevent blood clots. It also acts as an antioxidant, which stops cholesterol from sticking to your artery walls. (Photo: Pixabay)
Fish: According to the American Heart Association, people who consume fish regularly are less like to have cardiovascular disease.The benefits come from omega-3 fatty acids. (Photo: Pixabay)
Apples: The fruit contains phytonutrients or phytochemicals, which act as antioxidants against LDL, the damaging portion of cholesterol in the blood stream and helps reduce the risk of heart disease. (Photo: File Photo)
Beans: Adding beans to your diet is good for you heart, as it is low in fat and a cholesterol-free source of protein. (Photo: Pixabay)