Heart Disease Questions

Hexmage-PA

I wasn't really sure where would be an appropriate place to ask this, but I have a few questions about heart disease that I'd like answered.

One) Many people say that it is okay to have foods that aren't particularly good for you in "moderation." Meat contains fat and cholesterol. If you eat meat in moderation, will the fat and cholesterol not be as likely to build up and cause atherosclerosis, or is it only slowing the rate of build up over time?

Two) I've heard conflicting statements regarding the prominence of diet in the development of heart disease. On one hand I have of course heard that you shouldn't eat a lot of foods that contain a large amount of cholesterol. On the other hand, I've also heard that the majority of the cholesterol in your body is actually produced by your body itself. Which is a more important cause of heart disease: diet or family history?

Fantasma

This kind of questions are better answered by a Cardiologist, you do not say what kind of heart decease you have, or if you are the one diagnosed.

Some people can develop heart problems due to genetic pre-disposition, exercise and moderation is the key for a healthy individual and normally, problems arise with age. And yes, it is ok to eat meat well done.

The consumption of small portions of red wine is good for reducing cholesterol, this according to modern science studies.

Some reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wine#Health_effects

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherosclerosis

apotheos

My opinion is that diet and exercise are the major factors, being genetically predisposed makes it worse.

Again, my opinion, but with some reading into the subject it relatively easy to find the interesting dichotomy that heart disease is. Its rise caused one of the first waves of panic about the western lifestyle, and the decline in mortality was trumpeted as totally awesome.

However, it wasn't that people got better at not getting heart disease, it was that the medical system got better at treating people with it.

If you find that interesting I suggest looking into it as I really don't want to go past the "poorly supported rant" style of post and I encourage nobody to take my word for this and instead to dig into the easily available literature on the subject.

cloudeagle

OP, it's a little more complex than that.

It's not whether or not you eat meat, it's what kind of meat you eat. Eating lean ground beef is much better for you than, say, a big ole greasy hamburger. Likewise, there's "good" cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol.

It's going to take a lot more research than just making sweeping generalizations.

an_alt

1) Pretty much anything in moderation is fine although I'd suggest staying away from PCP.

2) Lowering cholesterol, if stripped down to two ideas, would be to consume less saturated fat and more fiber. Lowering cholesterol intake would, to the best of my knowledge, come after this.

It's really not about cholesterol "building up" over time. Your cholesterol level is affected both by what you consume and what you produce naturally. Swap sausage and hamburger for skinless chicken and steak to lower the intake from meat. Also avoid egg yolks, full fat dairy, palm oil, and deep fried foods. Try to eat more fiber, fatty fish, olive oil, and walnuts or almonds. Also, get some exercise. This will both lower your total cholesterol and improve the ratio of good (HDL) to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Hexmage-PA

When people say "moderation" what do they mean exactly? Once a week at most? Once a month at most?

When I asked if cholesterol builds up overtime I was mainly talking about atherosclerosis. Let me try to clarify my question: If talking in saturated fat and bad cholesterol can cause plaque build-up in blood vessels, will it always stay there or will it eventually wear away at least a little if a person exercises more and eats less fatty foods?