Preventing heart disease by healthy heart diet-Cheap and non pharmacological modality: Dr Sushil

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: To strengthen their campaign further to aware the common masses about the ill effects of Cardiovascular Diseases, Head of Department (HoD) of Cardiology, Dr Sushil Sharma held a day long Cardiac awareness-cum-health check up camp organized on the eve of Shaheedi Diwas of Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib at Gurudwara Singh Sabha, Sec-14, Guru Nanak Nagar here to educate people to shred sedentary lifestyle and adopt cardio protective food practices for a better and promising future.
The camp was inaugurated by Mahant Manjeet Singh along with Dr Sushil Sharma and prominent member of the Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.
While interacting with the people, Dr Sushil stated that heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide. 10% of all deaths were as a result of coronary heart disease and 25% of deaths were a result of cardiovascular disease. Although there is not one single cause, an unhealthy diet can be one of the contributing risk factors for heart disease. Heart disease results from the narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood through a process known as atherosclerosis.
Dr Sushil, while laying emphasis on healthy heart diet, told that we should limit fried fast food and processed foods and replace energy from saturated fats (such as butter, coconut oil and cream) with healthy unsaturated fats from seeds and plants (such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado, sunflower, canola, safflower, peanut, soybean and sesame) and foods such as nuts, seeds, avocado, olives and soy.
Increase the amount and variety of plant foods – eat more vegetables, fruits and wholegrain cereals. Reduce intake of refined sources of carbohydrates with higher glycaemic index (including foods with added sugars). These small changes in the food eating habits and lifestyle can lead to a drastic improvement in the cardiac health of society as a whole thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life.
He maintained that evidence shows the effectiveness of healthy dietary patterns and lifestyles for the prevention of CVD. Furthermore, the rising incidence of CVD over the last 25 years has become a public health priority, especially the prevention of CVD (or cardiovascular events) through lifestyle interventions.
Current scientific evidence shows that Western dietary patterns compared to healthier dietary patterns, such as the ‘Mediterranean diet’, leads to an excessive production of pro inflammatory cytokines associated with a reduced synthesis of anti-inflammatory cytokines.
He Added that Evidence-based dietary pattern guidance to promote cardio metabolic health includes adjust energy intake and expenditure to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, eat plenty and a variety of fruits and vegetables, choose whole grain foods and products, choose healthy sources of protein (mostly plants; regular intake of fish and seafood; low-fat or fat-free dairy products; and if meat or poultry is desired, choose lean cuts and unprocessed forms), use liquid plant oils rather than tropical oils and partially hydrogenated fats, choose minimally processed foods instead of ultra-processed foods, minimize the intake of beverages and foods with added sugars, he said.
Management committee of the Gurudwara Singh Sabha Jagmohan Singh, Dr Surjit Singh Raina and Kuldeep Singh appreciated the efforts of Dr Sushil and his team for conducting cardiac awareness cum health Check up Camp in their society and shows their heartfelt gratitude.
Others who were part of this camp include Dr Vivek Sharma ( Cardiologist) , Dr Yashwant Sharma, Dr Anitipal Singh and Dr Dhaneshwer Kapoor.
Paramedics and volunteers includes Raghav Rajput , Kamal Sharma, Amandeep Singh, Harvinder Singh, Rohit Nayyar, Arun Singh, Gourav Sharma, Rajinder Singh, Vikas Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Gagan Gupta, Jatin Bhasin, Faisal Rashid, Rahul Sharma, Sheikh Abrar , Rajkumar and Nirvair Singh Bali.