Decreasing Your Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Dr. Ashleigh Lane, ND

February is heart month – no, not just Valentines Day – every February the Heart and Stroke Foundation raises awareness about cardiovascular disease, what it is and how you can prevent it. Cardiovascular, or Heart disease is a group of conditions that affect the function of the heart muscle and/or blood supply to and from the heart. You heart is a large muscle that functions to pump blood and oxygen to the rest of your body. Anything that prevents that basic function from occurring properly can be considered cardiovascular disease. Some examples include:

Angina
Atherosclerosis
Cardiomyopathy
Hypertension

Heart disease accounts for 25.2% of all deaths in Canada, while 4.8% of Canadians live with hearth disease on a daily basis. The cause of heart disease, as with most other complex conditions, is multifactorial. Genetics are partially to blame, and there is little we can do to change that, but lifestyle habits and modifiable risk factors are infinitely more important when it comes to prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Modifiable risk factors:

*90% of Canadian people have at least one risk factor for heart disease, the most common being:

Smoking
Excessive alcohol intake
Excess abdominal fat
Physical inactivity
Poor Diet
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Stress

These risk factor are so critically important that a recent study found if the top 5 risk factors (smoking, excessive alcohol, abdominal fat, physical inactivity and poor nutrition) were reduced, the chance of experiencing a heart attack was 86% less.

“86% of heart attacks in men can be prevented by changing lifestyle (1)”

Changing your lifestyle is no easy feat, and often requires the guidance and support of a medical professional. Naturopathic doctors can help you break addictions, choose the diet that is right for you and help motivate you to stay on track.

Akesson A., et.al. Low-risk diet and lifestyle habits in the primary prevention of myocardial infarction in men: A population-based prospective cohort study. Journal of the America College of Cardiology 2014; 64:1299-1306.

Preventing CVD With Nutrition

Hint: You can start eating (some) salt and saturated fats again!

Sugar is worse than salt

It is clear that the lifestyle modifications are incredibly important in prevention, but what is even more impressive is that these same modifications are still the first-line therapy (instead of drug therapy) for all patients with stage I or II hypertension. Nutrition is only one piece of the puzzle, but it is the most important. Traditionally, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has been recommended

Did you know that lifestyle modifications are still the first-line therapy for all patients with stage I or II hypertension?

The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) has been used successfully for many years. There is nothing complicated or special about this diet – it is just plain healthy eating. High veggie & fruit, lean protein, whole, unprocessed grains, healthy fats and low sodium. Recent research has however called into question one small component – Sodium. You may be familiar with the term “Salt Sensitive”, referring to a subset of people that can see a reduction in blood pressure when sticking to a low-sodium diet. The amount of people that are truly salt sensitive is thought to be around 25%. Which means that all the attention that has been focused on sodium could be misguided. A recent study reviewed the impact that our other favorite white crystals have on hypertension, and the results are staggering. Sugar is emerging as a major player in the development of cardiovascular disease. A person who consumes more than 25% of calories from added sugar has a threefold increase in risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The good news is that the risk of sugar intake does not seem to apply to naturally occurring sugars found in fruits – so skip the sweet treats and reach for a handful of delicious berries.

Higher intakes of sugar can lead to an increase in blood pressure of 7.6/6.1 mmHg

Take home message: A sprinkling of sea salt on your home cooked meals is most likely healthy, while added sugars, in any amount are not good for your heart.

Saturated fat myth

There is another long-standing misconception about nutrition and CVD that we need to understand, and that is the saturated fat myth. We all grew up in a world where saturated fat was demonized and low-fat diet fads prevailed. With the continued explosion of obesity and emergence of high fat, low carb diets much more research has been done to clearly understand the connection between fats and CVD. Surprisingly, no one has been able to prove this long thought connection, some studies in fact have found saturated fats to be cardio protective5. The reasons behind this are complex and not fully understood, but what is clear is that a calorie is not a calorie, and the high-density of saturated fats does not correlate to an increase in cardiovascular disease or obesity. Your body is more efficient at burning fats for fuel than protein or carbohydrates.

Now, this does not mean that all saturated fats are created equally and trans-fats are still a giant health hazard and saturated fats, especially of animal origin can harbor pesticides, chemicals and hormones used in agricultural practices.

A few saturated fats you should consider adding back into your diet:

Organic virgin coconut oil
Organic, grass-fed, butter
Organic whole eggs (don’t skip the yolk!)
Organic, grass-fed beef

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