How to protect our heart?

(1)  Pomegranate

With their rich concentration of natural antioxidant flavonoids, pomegranates can deliver a wide range of nutritional benefits throughout the body.

In a study involving 101 hemodialysis patients, it was found that subjects receiving pomegranate juice had significant improvement in systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, triglycerides and HDL. These effects were more pronounced among subjects with high blood pressure, high triglycerides and low HDL at baseline. Thus pomegranate juice helps protect cardiovascular health by improving blood pressure and lipid levels.

(2) Vitamin D Supplements

Vitamin D besides good for bones, brain, immune system, mood and metabolic function, a new study involving 600 postmenopausal women also indicates that it may help lower LDL cholesterol levels, which could make it valuable for cardiovascular care.

It was found that in the study, women in the calcium/vitamin D group had a decrease in serum LDL compared to the control group. Overall, these women had higher serum 25OHD3 levels which are associated with higher HDL levels and lower triglyceride and LDL levels.

Both HDL and LDL are lipoproteins which used to pick up and carry loads of cholesterol through the blood. This is because cholesterol cannot dissolve in blood, so transport proteins carry it where it is needed.

HDL or high-density lipoproteins act as cholesterol scavengers, picking up excess cholesterol in our blood and taking it back to the liver where it is broken down.

But some LDL cholesterol circulating through the bloodstream tends to deposit in the walls of arteries. Then the white blood cells swallow and try to digest the LDL, possibly in an attempt to protect the blood vessels. In the process, the white blood cells convert the LDL to a toxic (oxidized) form.

More white blood cells and other cells migrate to the area, creating steady low-grade inflammation in the artery wall.

Over time, more LDL cholesterol and cells collect in the area. The ongoing process creates a bump in the artery wall called a plaque. The plaque is made of cholesterol, cells, and debris.

The process tends to continue, growing the plaque and slowly blocking the artery.

Thus higher LDL levels put us at greater risk for a heart attack from a sudden blood clot in an artery narrowed by atherosclerosis. An even greater danger than slow blockage is a sudden rupture of the surface of the plaque. A blood clot can form on the ruptured area, causing a heart attack. Experts define the seriousness of the level of LDL cholesterol in terms of the following:

·   An LDL of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is optimal.
·   An LDL of 100 to 129 mg/dL is near-optimal.
·   LDL between 130 and 159 mg/dL is borderline high.
·   LDL cholesterol between 160 and 189 mg/dL is high.
·   An LDL of 190 mg/dL or more is very high.