Mediterranean cuisine lowers heart attack risk

Mediterranean cuisine lowers heart attack risk

The occasional waiver of meat or animal fats and proteins protects the heart and can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, the German Heart Foundation in Frankfurt said. For example, comparisons between Germany and Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy have shown that southern Europeans suffer a heart attack much less frequently.

Southerners eat healthier
The much lower risk of heart attack in people from southern Europe, according to the German Heart Foundation is mainly due to the healthier eating habits. For example, in the Mediterranean region, foods such as fish, olive oil and vegetables regularly come out of the diet, which contain a lot of fiber and are healthier for the heart than meat, animal fats and egg whites. A change in diet could also significantly reduce the risk of heart attack for people at risk such as those with obesity or diabetics.

Smoking is the main cause of heart attacks
However, the German Heart Foundation also points out that smoking is still the most important risk factor for a heart attack. A healthy diet can only minimally reduce the risk of heart attack here. In addition, lack of exercise and too much stress are considered clear risk factors for a heart attack. Thus, the German Heart Foundation not only advises healthy nutrition, but also to regular physical exercise, and stress avoidance or stress management with targeted relaxation exercises. It can be achieved with small measures in everyday life already good effects. Avoiding the use of escalators and elevators, or using the bicycle on a regular basis, as well as reducing the consumption of meat and taking into account the recommendations for a balanced diet would be a clear advantage for the cardiovascular system.

Blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels as an indicator of heart attack risk
Whether there is an increased risk of cardiac infarction, can be read relatively well on the basis of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. For example, the German Heart Foundation recommends that people over the age of 35 receive a free medical check every two years in order to better assess their personal cardiovascular risk.

East Germans are more likely to suffer from deadly heart disease
On the first of October, the German Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (DGTHG) and the German Society of Cardiac Technology (DTH) have awarded the „Herzbericht“ presented, in which the heart disease are recorded statistically throughout Germany. According to the study, East Germans suffer far more frequently from fatal heart disease than West Germans, with Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen having the lowest levels, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg the highest. In the reference year of the current „heart report“ In 2008, 56,775 people died from heart disease. (fp, 04.10.2010)

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Image: Manfred Walker