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Posts Tagged ‘American Heart Association’

Diet for Blocked Arteries

November 27th, 2009 Johanna No comments

Is there a diet for blocked arteries? While there is no exact diet that offers meal plans or recipes, following firm dietary guidelines can absolutely improve artery health. Healthy diet can be effective in treating blocked arteries and it may help to prevent atherosclerosis.

Hardening of the arteries, blocked arteries, clogged arteries, and any other terms you may use is all common language for the medical terms atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. Equally mean hardening of the arteries, one just encompasses the other. Arteriosclerosis is a general term for any hardening/loss of elasticity of the arteries. Atherosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries caused by a specific plaque like cholesterol or triglycerides. Thus, atherosclerosis is a form of arteriosclerosis. All of this seems rather complicated, but the bottom line is whichever “sclerosis” you are talking about, having either one isn’t a good thing. Both cause clots to form in the arteries, build-up and fatty residue sticking to the walls as well; leading to coronary artery disease, further leading to stroke or even myocardial infarction, a heart attack. A hospital run is inevitable if you do not control this life threatening disease.

This silent disease may not show itself for years, even decades. It typically begins in adolescence, remains asymptomatic, taking years to become detectable. The plaque build-up, artery damage, and ultimately the narrowing of the arteries from all these years of damage can show some signs, if the person is willing to test for it. A cardiac stress test is non-invasive and can detect blood flow limitations, which would give reason to do further testing. Some patients, once diagnosed, usually report having severe headaches and numbness, not thinking they were related to any blockage at the time.

Therefore, to combat this deadly disease, your doctor may recommend some lifestyle changes and/or medication. These may include eating a healthy diet, implementing some form of physical activity, and weight management.

1. In more detail, you should limit your saturated fats to less that 7% of your daily intake, and your overall fat intake should be around 25%. The fat source should come from mono- and poly-unsaturated sources, including omega-3 fatty acids. Some food sources that have omega-3 are salmon, tuna, and mackerel. Your fiber intake should be at least 25 g a day, and you should have less than 200 mg a day of cholesterol. To do this, increase your vegetable, fruit, legume and whole grain intake. You will not only increase your fiber intake, but also lower cholesterol as well. Lastly, you should limit your alcohol and sodium (salt) intake at all times. Too much alcohol raises your blood pressure and triglycerides; and too much sodium raises blood pressure as well.

2. Maintain a healthy weight by increasing exercise. Cardiovascular and strength training are a must when implementing an exercise program. Both burn calories/fat and add lean tissue. It also increases the “good” cholesterol (HDL) that will help to clean out the arteries of the plaque and fatty deposits.

3. QUIT SMOKING!! Need I say more?

4. Reduce your stress in healthy ways. Don’t do it by eating, drinking or smoking. Use exercise, breathing, reading, or any other way that is relaxing to you to ease away stress in yourself.

Briefly, the main causes of atherosclerosis, or blocked arteries, are avoidable. Having the information and the ability to prevent a catastrophic event from ruining or ending you life is powerful. Take control of your fate, and do something to stop this silent killer from niggling up on you.

American Heart Association Diet Plan Online

November 24th, 2009 Johanna No comments

The American Heart Association (AHA) is the nation’s most trusted authority on heart-healthy living. AHA diet plan helps you create a personalized plan to lose weight in a healthful way. After a simple assessment of your current habits, you choose the eating and exercise strategies that best fit your needs. You’ll learn how to set practical goals, eat well to lose extra pounds safely, and add physical activity to keep the weight off for good.

The American Heart Association is an organization in the United States. Their goals are to promote and foster cardiac care and awareness. One of its primary goals is to reduce disability and death rate caused by cardiovascular diseases and stroke and help people cope. It is a non-profit organization.

The American Heart Association Diet Plan advises clients to become aware that labels on food can also be misleading if not read carefully. Most consumers overlook the fact that most snack foods and beverages contain more than one serving per package. While a small pack of chips might read 150 calories, the package may actually contain two servings. For most people, once that bag of chips is open, it is very difficult to close it up after eating one serving. The same thing goes for high caloric beverages, including flavored coffees, juices, and sodas. Most commercial epicure coffee beverages, such as lattes, contain several hundred calories. Comparatively, a cup of black coffee contains no calories! Always remember to keep an eye on food portions, especially when eating out. Whether consuming healthy food, or occasionally indulging in junk food, eating in moderation is the key to maintaining a healthy body, as well as monitoring daily caloric intake for a heart healthy diet.

AHA provided a healthy guideline for people who want to live longer and lose weight.  The eating plan is based on these AHA dietary guidelines:

* Total fat intake should be less than 30 percent of calories.

* Saturated fatty acid intake should be less than 10 percent of calories.

* Polyunsaturated fatty acid intake should be no more than 10 percent of calories,

* Monounsaturated fatty acids make up the rest of total fat intake, about 10 to 15 percent of total calories.

* Cholesterol intake should be no more than 300 milligrams per day.

* Sodium intake should be no more than 3000 milligrams (3 grams) per day.

American Heart Association 3 Day Diet

November 1st, 2009 Johanna No comments

The American Heart Association 3 day diet is intended for people who want to lose weight quick. The diet program claims to decrease your weight by up 10 pounds within 3 days. But not merely fat loss fits in to its benefits; it is also supposed to have a cleansing effect. After doing a little research, we’ve found these claims to be extremely dubious at best.

The supposed “American Heart Association 3 Day Diet” is a diet that assures 10 pound weight loss in three days. This diet is not really endorsed by American Heart Association at all. It promotes unhealthy intake so, as a word of caution, this diet should not be done beyond 3 days.

This diet, the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet, is in no way associated to the American Heart Association. Although there are people that are attempting to pass the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet off as a genuine diet that is supposed to help cardiac patients as something 3 Day Diet is in fact not a true diet supported by the American Heart Association, and the fitness benefits of it is a much debated topic.

There are no doctors or dietitians that support the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet, due in part to the lack of healthy eating. The American Heart Association 3 Day Diet allows foods that are primary sources of fat, sodium, and cholesterol.

Some different names for the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet claim a different purpose for the diet, such as using it as a cleansing diet to take away toxins from your body. However, the main idea with the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet stands the same. They promise of speedy weight loss, with little or no effort on your part. This is untrue, not only with the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet, but also with other diets that center mainly on food content, and fail to address the exercise part of the diet. The American Heart Association 3 Day Diet does not create any references to an exercise regimen, or any type of exercise for that issue.

Exercise plays a vital role in any diet, but in the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet, there is no mention of exercise. The American Heart Association 3 Day Diet consists of a three day food schedule that you are encouraged to adhere to. The weight loss capability promised in the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet is a 10 pound weight loss in just three days.

Doctors and dietitians that have studied the American Heart Association 3 Day Diet, have stated that a minor quantity of weight loss will in fact occur, due to the fact of the calorie count being so low, only about 1,200 calories a day, but the weight loss would consist of mostly water weight, and muscle being burned. Very little fat weight loss would happen.

Sometimes all you require to do for incessantly losing weight are some small changes in your eating habits. A calorie reduction of 250 to 500 calories per day is a good pace to go. As most people do not have an idea how many calories they can eat at their upholding level minus those 250 to 500 calories, it would be a good idea to start having that intended using an online BMR calculator and then choosing a diet plan according to your result. You might be surprised how many calories you can eat and still lose weight!

We in no way recommend this diet. In fact we believe it’s a bad idea and is disingenuous at best. Steer clear of this one.