Diet and heart disease risk – Better Health Channel

Heart disease

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Australia in 2018, 11% of all deaths were as a result of heart disease. Although there is not one single cause, an unhealthy diet can be one of the contributing risk factors for heart disease.

Paying attention to what you eat and consuming a variety of healthy foods from the 5 food groups is one of the most important preventative measures you can take.

Heart disease results from the narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood through a process known as atherosclerosis. Fatty deposits (or plaque) gradually build up on the inside of the artery walls, narrowing the space in which blood can flow to heart. Atherosclerosis can start when you are young, so by the time you reach middle age, it can be quite advanced.

Plaque build-up can be considered as stable or unstable. If there is too much build-up of stable plaque, it narrows the arteries, causing pain and discomfort due to not enough blood reaching the heart this is called angina and it needs to be treated.

Unstable plaque is inflamed and has a thin cap which is prone to developing a crack, allowing the blood to come in contact with the fatty contents of the plaque. The blood will clot to try to seal the gap but in doing so, the blood clot blocks the artery. This prevents the flow of blood to the heart, cuts off its oxygen supply and damages or kills the heart cells. This is a heart attack.

There are many factors that can increase your risk of heart disease. Although some of these cannot be changed, the good news is that there are plenty of risk factors within your control. For example, by being physically active, ensuring you have good social support and not smoking, your risk of heart disease is reduced.

Some risk factors are connected. For example, cholesterol levels and blood pressure can be affected by diet, as can your body weight and management of diabetes.

Therefore, one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease is to have a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight!

Cholesterol is a fat crucial to many metabolic functions and is an essential part of all the bodys cell membranes. It is made by the body from the food we eat and is produced in the liver.

Blood lipids (fats) that contain cholesterol include low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL (bad) cholesterol can lead to plaque forming in the arteries while HDL (good) cholesterol helps to remove cholesterol from the body and makes it harder for plaque to form in the arteries.

Saturated fats (also known as bad fats) tend to increase LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood. Common sources of saturated fats include animal products (butter, coconut oil, meat fat including lard and dripping, beef, lamb, chicken skin and palm oil), and processed foods like pastries and biscuits.

Although full fat dairy foods (such as milk, cheese and yoghurt) contain saturated fat, it appears this type of fat has a neutral relationship with heart health.

The Heart Foundation recommends unflavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese can be consumed by the general population but for people who need to lower their LDL cholesterol, reduced fat versions should be consumed instead.

It was once thought cholesterol naturally found in eggs was bad for heart health. However, research suggests eggs have a neutral relationship with heart health they neither increase nor decrease the risk of heart disease for the general population.

For people who need to lower their LDL cholesterol or those with type 2 diabetes, the Heart Foundation recommends a maximum of 7 eggs per week.

Like saturated fats, trans fats tend to increase LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood but they also tend to reduce HDL (good) cholesterol levels. So, they are more damaging to our health and can increase our risk of cardiovascular diseases (such as heart disease and stroke).

Trans fatty acids form when monounsaturated or polyunsaturated vegetable oils are hydrogenated and hardened to form margarines, oils for deep frying and shortening for baked products.

These harder vegetable fats and shortenings are used by the food industry in processed foods (such as cakes and biscuits and deep-fried takeaway meals).

Some trans fatty acids also occur naturally in some meats, butter and dairy products.

Most monounsaturated and polyunsaturated table margarines sold in Australia have very low levels of trans fatty acids and are a preferred substitute to butter, which contains saturated fat.

Reduce your risk of heart disease, by replacing energy intake from saturated and trans (bad fats) in your diet with unsaturated (good fats).

Substitute butter, coconut and palm oil, lard, dripping and copha with oils made from seeds or plants (such as olive, avocado, sunflower, canola, safflower, peanut, soybean and sesame).

Other sources of unsaturated fats include unsalted nuts, seeds (including chia, tahini and linseed) and avocado.

A diet high in salt is linked to hypertension (high blood pressure), which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. Most of us consume more than 10 times the amount of salt we need to meet our sodium requirements (salt contains sodium and chloride).

Most of the sodium in our diet is not from added salt at the table, but from packaged and processed foods. Even sweet foods and those that dont taste salty can have much more sodium than youd expect!

A simple way to cut down on the amount of sodium in your diet is to reduce the amount of processed foods, limit fast food and use herbs and spices for flavour.

Eating a variety of foods is beneficial to our health and can help reduce our risk of disease (including heart disease). Try to eat a wide variety of foods from each of the 5 food groups, in the amounts recommended. Not only does this help you maintain a healthy and interesting diet, but it provides essential nutrients to the body.

The Heart Foundation recommends:

Also, be mindful on how much you are eating and whether you are filling up on unhealthy foods. Portion sizes have increased over time and many of us are eating more than we need which can lead to obesity and increase our risk of cardiovascular disease.

Ideally, a healthy plate would include servings of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables.

Although there is no one magic food to lower our risk of developing heart disease, there is some evidence that some foods are important for heart health. These include:

Try these steps to reduce your risk of developing heart disease:

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Diet and heart disease risk - Better Health Channel