Heart Health: Atherosclerosis & Diet

Understanding Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a disorder which causes a hardening and narrowing of the artery walls due to clusters of cholesterol, reducing or completely hindering the blood supply reaching the tissue that the artery serves. In the heart, this causes problems when it happens in the coronary arteries. Atherosclerosis can affect any artery in our body, but the most common are:

Commonly Affected Arteries

• Coronary arteries: These are the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Their involvement produces angina pectoris and myocardial infarction.
• Carotid arteries: These are the main arteries carrying blood to the head. Their involvement can lead to the onset of stroke.
• Aorta artery: This is the largest artery in the body, and its effect may lead to a lack of blood flow in the legs and intra-abdominal organs like the kidneys.
• Extremity arteries: Involvement of the arteries of the extremities results in a lack of blood flow that causes pain with exercise (intermittent claudication), at night (pain at rest), and wounds that do not heal (gangrene). This may lead to limb amputation if adequate treatment is not applied early and aggressively.

Characteristics of a Balanced Diet

A balanced diet depends on a number of personal factors such as sex, height, weight, age, activity level, the climate, and environment we live in. Because of the many personal factors on which it depends, a balanced diet varies greatly from one individual to another, and therefore there is talk of quantities or Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA or RDA).

Objectives of a Balanced Diet

• Provide a quantity of energy nutrients (calories) that is sufficient to carry out metabolic processes and necessary work, neither more nor less.
• Provide enough nutrients with plastic and regulatory functions (proteins, minerals, and vitamins). Not missing, but no excess.
• Ensure that the quantities of each of the nutrients are balanced with each other. This means:
  • Protein should account for 15% of total caloric intake;
  • Carbohydrates should provide us at least 55-60% of total caloric intake;
  • Lipids should not exceed 30% of total caloric intake.