Good Food for Heart

Basically man is a fruitarian. He was designed to eat fruits, nuts and vegetables. In the course of time, man’s eating habits changed. Occasionally fish and meat were also added to the diet. Gradually man began to cook food on invention of fire.  The practice of cooking led to include more fish and meat in the diet instead of fruits and vegetables. 

Cooking habits also changed considerably and people started to consume pre-cooked and canned food more.  In pre-cooked foods additives are added and natural vitamins and fibers are either lost or removed.  More saturated fat and blood glucose are added. Saturated fat, as we all know, is the basic cause for Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) because it gets stored up. Fast food is heavily laden with calories.  Such food when cooked at home is not so rich in calories.  Home cooked food which may not be attractive to the eyes and delicious in taste, won’t do any harm. 

To have a healthy heart, we should start to include more fruits, vegetables and nuts in our diet. Food that is rich in Omega-3, the essential fatty acid, should be included at all costs.  Besides, such nutritional foods can prevent and control diseases. Pre-cooked and fast food should be avoided as far as possible. 

Farming practices also under went a lot of changes.  For eradication of pests and insects chemical pesticides and insecticides are used tremendously.  These chemicals get in to our system through food grains, etc., and endanger our health to a great extent.  Organic farming is the only solution. 

More water is to be consumed instead of soft drinks that are rich in artificial flavors and colorants.  Natural fruits juice should also included in the diet. 

Despite the advancement of medical science and inventions, the graph of CVD shows an upward trend. The WHO Report also substantiates this alarming truth.  As it is said prevention is better than treatment, drastic decision on the part of every one should be taken so that deliberate change of eating habits is adapted. Otherwise, the rate of sudden and untimely death due to CVD would be growing with rapid speed. Medicines alone cannot control CVD or any other disease. No disease is developed overnight. The wrong food we eat will have lasting and cumulative adverse effect on the whole system and would lead to CVD and other ailments. 

Famous Nobel Laureate Dr. Linus Pauling opines that 90% of deaths are caused due to diseases.  Of all the killer diseases known today, CVD is the most dangerous one.  However, it can be controlled and prevented if care is given to choose the right, healthy and nutritional food.