Congenital Heart Condition

A 12-year-old boy died in school because of his congenital heart condition. As reported in newspaper, he was suffering from cardiomyopathy, which inflames the heart muscles, prohibiting normal functioning. His mother died two years ago with the same disease.

His condition is uncontrollable. According to his father, he could die at any time since he was born. There are 35,000 babies are born each year in United States with some kind of congenital heart disease. Some will heal over time while others will require treatment.

What is Prevention?

Prevention is better than cure! This is what we are always being advised. But how many of us really treat prevention seriously?

We cannot prevent from contracting from any particular disease by just taking supplements or vitamins. We need to aware and understand not only the cause of that disease but also its consequences

Many of the risk factors of heart disease can easily be preventable. Good examples are smoking, alcohol drinking, physical inactivity. Other risk factors such as blood cholesterol level, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and obesity can also be prevented by adopting healthy lifestyle from young, unless they are due to family genetic factors that are uncontrollable.

Salt Is a Poison That Can Lead To Heart Disease!

Sodium is essential for cell function as it maintains the electrolyte balance in the body, which regulates the flow of fluids such as water and blood. So, why salt is called a poison?

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Exercise

Besides diet, moderate amount of exercise can also help you to have a healthy body. Physical activity improves your heart by reducing blood pressure and enables you to control your body weight. It helps prevent and control heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.

Fiber, Freshness & Plant-based Protein

Fiber
Fiber can lower blood cholesterol. At least 20 to 35g of fiber should be taken per day. Fiber can be classified into soluble and insoluble: soluble fiber can be found in oaks, barley, dry beans, apple, orange, pear and carrot while vegetables and whole grains are good examples of insoluble fiber.

Freshness
Fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables are non-processed and do not contain salt. This will limit your intake of salt.

Plant-based Protein
You should replace meat with beans and bean products a few times a week. Plants do not contain cholesterol though some (such as coconut) may contain fats.

Salt, Sugar and Alcohol

Salt

Only 2.5g of sodium is required for our body in a day. Being the major component of salt, sodium maintains fluid balance in our body and helps our muscles, including heart muscle to relax. However, excessive sodium intake will cause fluid retention in our body and contribute to high blood pressure.

Sugar

Taking too much sugar means a high calorie intake which Can lead to weight gain. So avoid or cut down soft drinks, dessert such as cream cakes, pastries, and foods with high carbohydrate.

Alcohol
High blood pressure can also be caused by excessive intake of alcohol. You may, however, take a unit of two each day but do keep to a safe level with some alcohol-free days.

Fat and Cholesterol

Fat and cholesterol are not the same. However, both cholesterol and saturated fats in diet may raise blood cholesterol level which may eventually cause heart disease. Therefore, it is recommended that you should take only 15 to 32g of saturated fat and less than 300mg of cholesterol per day. You should avoid fried and oily food and replace saturated fats with poly-unsaturated fats (such as some vegetable and fish oils) and mono-unsaturated fats (such as olive and canola oils).

2 Simple Principles To Prevent Heart Disease

Using easily-remembered numbers 3-5-7, the following two simple principles can help you prevent heart disease:

3-5-7 Healthy Heart Diet Principles
3 Highs (high in fiber, freshness, plant-based protein);
5 Lows (low in fat, cholesterol, salt, sugar and alcohol); and
70% Full for your diet.

3-5-7 Healthy Heart Exercise Principles
3 kilometers walk (or 5000 steps) per day;
5 times a week; and
Exercise heart rate at less than (170 minus Age) beats per minute. For example, if your age is 40, then your exercise heart rate should not exceed 130 beats per minute.

Stress and smoking can cause heart disease too, so do manage your stress level and stay away from smoking.