BAD DIET AND HEART ATTACK

Introduction 

Diet is the most important factor for coronary heart disease. Any diet which does not
contain enough calories and a high level of nutrients are called as bad or unhealthy
diets. For example, the consumption of low-fat diets is also bad for human physiology.
Therefore, every person should intake foods that contain carbohydrates, proteins, and
fats proportionately. Any kind of poor diet like fast foods, cured meats, soft drinks, and
cookies contains a high amount of fats and carbohydrates for which excessive weights,
high blood pressure and increased level of cholesterol results and all these factors are
the possible risk factors for heart disease. In this essay, different types of components
are discussed which differentiate between a good diet and bad diet. In addition to this,
the relation of bad diets and heart disease are also illustrated.

Components differentiating between good diets and bad diets 

In recent days, the major problem is that people do not understand the difference
between healthy food and junk foods. Most of the people think that healthy food is much
more expensive than junk food. They do not even want to understand calories and
energy which can be extracted from a healthy or good diet. Calorie is nothing but the
unit measurement of energy. On average from a healthy diet approximately 20 calories
can be gained (Abdurrachim et al. 2015). However, this balanced amount can of
calories not be gained from unhealthy diets. Apart from that, the major difference
between good and bad diet is nutrition. A certain type of food contains both
macronutrient and micronutrient. In macronutrients, 1 gram of protein and carbohydrate
contain approximately 4 calories each and fat contains 9 calories. On the other hand,
micronutrients are specifically known as vitamins and minerals. The basic difference
between healthy food and unhealthy food is the lack of a significant amount of calories.
In healthy foods such as vegetables, foods, potatoes contain an adequate amount of
macronutrient and micronutrient than junk food (Hassanpour et al. 2017). The
combination of high fat, high amounts of sugar and sodium and low amount of fibre in
junk food result in high blood pressure which is a major factor of heart disease and
stroke.

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Relation of diet with heart health

Recently the most controversies are arising about the optimal diet level for
cardiovascular health. Junk food or unhealthy foods contain added sugars, refined
grains, salts, and unhealthy fats. Often these are found in highly processed foods. The
major concerning factor is the impact of all of the aforementioned components on the
health of heart. As researched by Anand et al. (2015), the case of cardiovascular
disease, especially heart attack is mainly associated with refined carbohydrates
according to the ecological evidence from the UK. Robust data from high-quality RCTs
and systematic reviews support the bad effect on a healthy heart. According to the
controlled feeding study, the replacement of saturated fat with a high amount of
carbohydrate decreases the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) and in addition to that, it also increases the level of triglycerides. A
dietary intervention lowering HDL-C can potentially cause cardiovascular disease. On
the other hand, in a meta-analysis, it is also found that an increased amount of
Glyceraldehyde can cause myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease. According
to Hu et al. (2015), controlled feeding trial of 5 weeks can lower the high glycemic index
which does not improve insulin sensitivity and systolic blood work. 

Vegetable oils that are not present in junk foods are mainly composed of
monounsaturated fatty acids and poly-unsaturated fatty acids. These two types of fatty
acids can potentially decrease the chance of heart attack. In addition to this, n-3 poly-
unsaturated fat alpha-linolenic acid termed as ALA are found in canola oil. This is also a
cardioprotective replacement of saturated fat with these unsaturated fatty acids and
reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). It also preserves the High-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). According to the view of (Bowden, Sinatra, and
Rawlings, 2015) Trans fatty acid can increase cardiovascular health disease (CHD)
such as heart attacks compared to the other macronutrients. This is strong evidence of
the adverse effect of Trans-fatty acids which are often found in junk foods. The
exchange of macronutrients cannot influence glucose homeostasis markers.
Replacement of saturated fatty acid and monounsaturated fatty acid improves glucose
homeostasis. 

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 Figure 1: Recommended dietary change

(Source: Anand et al. 2015)

According to the meta-analysis done by (Bauer et al. 2019) it is suggested that, the odd
CI ratio is 1.07: 0.96-1.119. Replacement of highly refined carbohydrates with saturated
fat can lower the chance of heart disease. On the other hand, a high amount of glycine
index can increase the rate of cardiovascular disease. It can potentially increase the risk
of about 33%. Emerging evidence suggests that cardiovascular disease depends on the
type and amount of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid. In addition to this,

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consumption of plant or vegetable oil potentially reduces cardiovascular disease. Also,
the consumption of palm oil through a healthy diet can reduce cardiovascular disease.
Apart from that an adequate amount of protein, zinc, iron, and vitamin-B can reduce
heart disease. Consumption of red meat is also good for heart health. However, a
recent analysis done by Bowden, Sinatra and Rawlings (2015) shows that the
association of processed red meat is more risk factor of heart attack than poultry.
Besides, a proper dietary change as mentioned by Anand et al. (2015) shown in figure
1 can be considered for keeping heart healthy.

Conclusion 

From the above discussion, it is concluded that the consumption of a balanced diet is
good for heart health. Any kind of poor diet like fast foods, cured meats, soft drinks, and
cookies contains a high amount of fats and carbohydrates for which excessive weights,
high blood pressure and increased level of cholesterol results and all these factors are
the possible risk factors for heart disease. Junk food or unhealthy foods contain added
sugars, refined grains, salts, and unhealthy fats. In the case of cardiovascular disease,
especially heart attack is mainly associated with refined carbohydrates. According to the
controlled feeding study, the replacement of saturated fat with a high amount of
carbohydrate decreases the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) and in addition to that, it also increases the level of triglycerides. A
dietary intervention lowering of HDL-C can potentially cause cardiovascular disease.
However, the consumption of food with CI ratio 1.07: 0.96-1.119 can potentially reduce
heart attack.

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