The old expression “you are what you eat” still rings true to this day. Over the past few decades contemporary medical science has identified several factors that are linked to increased risk of vascular disease whether it involve the heart, the brain, or the body in general. These factors allow physicians to counsel their patients in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. As cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in North Americans, prevention of its various manifestations is of the utmost importance.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, significantly increases the risk of future cardiovascular disease. Once identified it can readily be treated by your family doctor with diet modification (i.e. low salt diet), regular exercise, and if necessary, antihypertensive medications. With effective management of high blood pressure the risk of future cardiovascular disease is reduced by approximately 70%.
The fasting cholesterol profile has been identified as another
factor allowing physicians to identify those at risk of future
cardiovascular disease. The profile consists of triglyceride, low density
lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. A study
following an entire community in Framingham, Massachusetts for decades
allowed a risk stratifying assessment of patients (i.e. classifying patients
into low, moderate and high risk), in regards to their risk of future
cardiovascular disease. The fasting cholesterol profile can also be
effectively treated with diet modification, regular exercise and eventually
cholesterol-lowering medications.
A third factor predisposing individuals to increased risk of cardiovascular disease is diabetes mellitus. Diabetes is a disorder where an individual’s body produces insufficient amounts of insulin or their body is less responsive to the insulin that is produced. Diabetes has complications ranging from subtle to dramatic that affect the heart, nerves, vision through damage to the retina as well as the kidneys. Your family physician screens for diabetes by ordering a fasting glucose. If diabetes is treated through a regimented low carbohydrate diet along with insulin injections and/or oral blood sugar lowering medications, the risks of cardiovascular complications are greatly reduced.
Additional factors such as smoking and excessive alcohol intake also increase risk of cardiovascular disease. Their treatment though difficult is obviously cessation. A family history of cardiovascular disease in first degree relatives (males < 50 years old, females <60 years old) provides important information about overall genetic risk for future development of disease.
A healthy diet is an essential part of feeling good, maintaining your target body weight and preventing future cardiovascular disease. Living healthier and longer is the realistic goal of conscientious eating. Healthy eating not only lowers your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and of an elevated fasting cholesterol profile and subsequent risk of heart attack, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease but likely lowers your risk in ways that modern medical science cannot measure.
So you ask yourself: “I don’t have high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of these diseases, why should I be concerned?”. Your fasting cholesterol profile may be perfect but an unhealthy diet still creates risk. The use of a body mass index, whereby a calculation is made using your weight and your height with a normal healthy range that has been identified, is a tool to further assess an individual’s risk of future problems regardless of presence of the other risk factors. More recently, a waist-to-hip ratio calculation has been proven to be predictive of heart disease in those whose ratio is elevated. In other words, blood tests and measurements of blood pressure are not the whole story. Since you cannot change what you inherited from Mom and Dad, your diet, the amount you exercise, and those nasty habits that many of us have (especially smoking and excessive alcohol intake) make a tremendous impact on your future health.
Eating a healthy diet is essential regardless of how healthy you are at this point in time. I advocate a healthy well balanced diet as recommended by the Canada Food Guide to my patients. Specific diets such as the Atkins diet, the DASH diet, and the Mediterranean diet exist and there has been much discussion about their merits and their shortcomings. This website does not imply a specific approach to healthy eating. Here you will find specific ideas on how to create elegant, tasteful meals to share with your friends and loved ones that include healthier alternatives and how these alternatives can be used to spice up your diet in general. Tasty dressings, spices, and reductions allow for an enhanced culinary experience for health conscious individuals and allow for improved compliance with a healthy diet.
Eating healthy is a balance that is different for each individual. The right combination of protein, carbohydrates and fat is likely slightly different for each person. A balance of tasty meals and healthy ingredients is vital. Try different approaches and recipes and see what works for you. Self-education, awareness and a thoughtful diet are the first step. We hope you find the recipes and information in these pages useful along the way.
Dr. Lawrence Korngut, M.D.
Chief Neurology Resident
London Health Sciences Centre
London, Ontario
