The importance of the Mediterranean diet to your cardiovascular health.
The Cardiovascular System
The cardiovascular system (circulatory system) includes the heart, arteries, veins and smaller blood vessels. The heart is actually a pump that primarily has to ensure that the blood is pushed to all corners of the body. The blood transports oxygen and vital nutrients to the various parts of the body via the arteries. Waste materials are removed through the veins. The heart needs enough oxygen to work.
What is arteriosclerosis?
Arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis is characterized by a narrowing of the arteries due to fat deposits on the walls of the blood vessels . The blood often contains an excess of fat and cholesterol. These substances are stored on the inner walls of the arteries, gradually forming deposits that impede blood circulation.
Causes and risk factors
Arteriosclerosis is related to many factors that are a risk factor or a direct cause forms:- nicotine
- diabetes
- old age
- hypertension
- high cholesterol level in the blood
- obesity
- hereditary predisposition
Atherosclerosis is the cause of many other vascular diseases.
2189 / 5000 Vertaalresultaten Good blood circulation is important for the optimal functioning of all organs.
Everyone knows the shop window legs where you get pain in the calves due to a poor blood supply to the leg muscles. Shop window legs are the result of arteriosclerosis (narrowing and hardening of the arteries). The right diet and supplements can support the health of your blood vessels.
Varicose veins
Varicose veins are due to the permanent expansion of the superficial veins of the leg. This benign condition affects one in two women and one in ten men. Normally, blood flows from the legs through the veins to the heart. Small valves in the veins prevent the blood from flowing back. That system sometimes fails: Faulty valves in some deep veins of the leg cause reflux of the blood, which builds up in the veins on the surface of the leg. The exact cause is unknown, but it is probably a hereditary disease of the vascular wall. The development of varicose veins is facilitated by several factors: obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, long standing, old age and hormonal factors.
Atherosclerosis prevention measures
Prevention is essential and offers the possibility to slow down and even reverse the evolution of the disease. It is mainly based on healthy lifestyle habits: not smoking, taking regular exercise, correcting arterial hypertension, possibly keeping blood sugar levels under control and following a balanced and low-fat diet.
2189 / 5000 Vertaalresultaten Good blood circulation is important for the optimal functioning of all organs.Everyone knows the shop window legs where you get pain in the calves due to a poor blood supply to the leg muscles. Shop window legs are the result of arteriosclerosis (narrowing and hardening of the arteries). The right diet and supplements can support the health of your blood vessels.
Varicose veins
Varicose veins are due to the permanent expansion of the superficial veins of the leg. This benign condition affects one in two women and one in ten men. Normally, blood flows from the legs through the veins to the heart. Small valves in the veins prevent the blood from flowing back. That system sometimes fails: Faulty valves in some deep veins of the leg cause reflux of the blood, which builds up in the veins on the surface of the leg. The exact cause is unknown, but it is probably a hereditary disease of the vascular wall. The development of varicose veins is facilitated by several factors: obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, long standing, old age and hormonal factors.
Atherosclerosis prevention measures
Prevention is essential and offers the possibility to slow down and even reverse the evolution of the disease. It is mainly based on healthy lifestyle habits: not smoking, taking regular exercise, correcting arterial hypertension, possibly keeping blood sugar levels under control and following a balanced and low-fat diet.
