Your diet may be putting you at risk for heart disease, potentially resulting in complications such as a heart attack. Coronary heart disease, or CHD, is the most common type of heart disease, and the American Heart Association reports that 17.6 million Americans had coronary heart disease in 2010. A diet that's low in fat, when combined with exercise and a healthy lifestyle, can reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease.
Diet
A diet high in fat and cholesterol is the primary cause of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. The fat we eat gets absorbed into the intestines, then goes into the liver. The liver converts fat into cholesterol and triglycerides. Triglycerides are stored in fat cells. Most fat in foods and in the body is in the chemical form of triglycerides. High triglyceride levels are associated with coronary heart disease.
Coronary Heart Disease
Excess cholesterol and other fatty substances build up along the walls of blood vessels, narrowing the space for blood to flow and preventing it from flowing efficiently to vital organs. CHD is the narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply oxygen-rich blood to the muscles of the heart. This life-threatening disease is also known as coronary artery disease. Chest pain or heart attack may be the first symptoms of coronary heart disease.
Fat
Fat is an animal product, found in meat, eggs, milk and butter. There are several types of fat, including saturated fat and trans fat. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature. This type of fat shows up as the white layer seen along the side of an uncooked steak or the specks in raw hamburger. A diet high in trans fats is closely associated with heart disease. Commercially baked products like snack cakes and pies contain large amounts of trans fats to lengthen shelf life and give food a creamier texture.
Limits
There are 9 calories in every gram of fat. A healthy person should get 25 to 35 percent of his calories from fat each day. Saturated fats should comprise 7 percent of calories daily, and trans fats should account for less than 1 percent of a healthy person's caloric intake. The remaining fat should come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils.
Low-Fat Diet
A diet low in fat, especially saturated and trans fats, lowers blood cholesterol levels, which reduces your risk for developing coronary heart disease. Every 1 percent drop in your cholesterol reduces your risk for heart disease by 2 percent, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Lower your cholesterol levels and risk for coronary heart disease by cutting back on fat, exercising for a half hour five days a week, quitting smoking and reducing the amount of alcohol you consume.
