As I was browsing online yesterday on my usual health websites, I saw a headline that caught my attention. It says: “Heart Diseases And Hypertension Are The Number One Cause of Death In Nigeria”
I was curious and I went to read the full article and here are the interesting statistics I found as I quote:
“In recent times, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) have assumed a major threat to human existence in the 21st Century across the world, including developing countries like Nigeria, claiming about 17.3 million lives annually.
According to medical reports, hypertension has shown to form the bulk of admissions in Nigerian hospitals, with the mean age of Nigerians that come down with hypertension said to be less than 50 years of age. More worrisome is the fact that about 30 million Nigerians (or 20 percent) of the adult population suffer from hypertension with only about 30 percent of this number (9 to 12 million Nigerians) aware they suffer from it, according to latest report released during the World Hypertension Day.”
So you can see, all these reports are focused on heart problems. In fact the World Health Organization (WHO) further confirms it that Cardio Vascular diseases (heart diseases) is presently the number one cause of death in the world today.
Look at the summary of the statistics.
• 17.3 million people die every year from hear- related problems
• 30 million Nigerians or 20% of the adult population has hypertension
• Out of the 30 million above, just 9 to 12 million are aware they are hypertensive, (probability for untimely death for the rest 18 to 21 million Nigerians)
Are Those Facts Not Alarming?
Why do we have so much heart problems claiming lives today? Well, I think we all know the answer. Not living a healthy life could cause severe heart problems which is a result of obesity in most cases. Here is the plain truth:
Obesity Is In Most Cases The Major Cause of Heart Problems!
In my research to find additional ways to conquer the problems of obesity and prevent heart diseases, I stumbled on a medical report that unearths the secret foods that can protect the heart from ever having the problem of heart related disease and subsequently obesity.
If you love your heart, then you will do well to ensure you eat the following foods on a regular basis to nourish your heart.
THE 4 SECRET FOODS FOR THE HEART
Grape Seed
If you have seen grapes before and ignored it, I guess after reading this piece you will come to love and appreciate this wonderful fruit. Grapes are a lower classification for the berry fruits.
In Nigeria, we see them in super markets or at traffic jams or “Go-slows” when people hawks them along with green and red apples.
According to a cardiologist, “we are only as young as our blood vessels remain flexible. Once they become stiff, we start aging rapidly. “Grape seed extracts dramatically improve the flexibility of blood vessels and actually remove the ‘stickiness’ on the inside of our vessels that attracts cholesterol.” ”
Scientific studies have shown that grapes contain ingredients (Polyphenol) that reverses or slows down the production of fatty deposits in the arteries from the foods we eat.
Other health benefits of grape seed extract include the prevention of certain cancers and reducing risk for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Sardines
Oh, how I love this fish. If you don’t know, Sardine is a type of fish that is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which is good for the heart. Other sea foods that are also rich in Omega 3 fats are Shrimps, Crabs, Crustaceans, crayfish. These foods contain components that improves both the heart and brain health conditions.
Sardines are cheaply obtained from our markets and are very good for the heart. If you have been eating less fish and more red meat, this is the best time to reverse your eating habit. Eat more of sea foods, and less of red meat from cows and goats. Your heart will tell the difference in time as you will remain lean and healthy.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is the healthiest cooking oil ever. Olive oil has both the content of the sea foods and that of grapes. In other words, it is rich with Omega 3 fats and polyphenol. Unlike other oils, you can eat as much olive oil as you can without adding any fat to your body.
People have asked whether coconut oil can be used as a substitute, while the answer maybe yes, it should be noted that coconut oil has just 10% of the polyphenol content that olive oil has which the heart needs to be flexible and cholesterol free.
In comparison while coconut oil is also a healthy alternative, the olive oil is a better choice.
Raw Nuts
You hear it all the time about how important it is to eat nuts as snacks during the day or in-between meals. The reality is raw nuts contains unsaturated fats which lowers the bad cholesterol levels in the heart. It also contains Vitamins E, which helps to stop the growth of plaque or fatty residues along the walls of the arteries.
What type of raw nuts are we talking about here?
Here are the examples
• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Cashew Nuts
• Peanuts also known as Groundnuts
Other health advantage of eating nuts are:
* They improve the health of artery walls by making them more flexible and less prone to blood clots; and fiber.
* Nuts are known to lower LDL, reduce your risk of developing blood clots, and improve the health of the lining of your arteries.
While nuts are very healthy to eat, nuts contain up to 80% fats. Even though these are healthy fats, consumption of nuts should be moderate as excessive consumption can gather too much calories into your body.
Truth is if we know what to do to live a healthy life, we will never suffer from any heart disease. It has been historically shown that people who lived before 1900 have very few cases of heart diseases. In fact Hypertension was not well known then because people ate more of unprocessed foods and mainly natural foods that are healthy.
If you have mild high blood pressure or you know someone who does, depending on whether it is a primary hypertension or secondary hypertension, you can actually live a drug free life or at least control it naturally. Use the powerful resource here on Natural High Blood Pressure Control to help that person, it works wonders.
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