Coronary heart disease is a disease which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen to heart. If these arteries are blocked, heart attack (angina) can occur. Angina gives chest pain or discomfort. We may feel a pressure on our heart or on our shoulders, arms, neck or back. This is the symptom of the coronary heart disease.
There are many causes of the coronary heart disease. For example, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, physical inactivity and poor diet. These are the controllable factors. There are also non-controllable factors such as age, ethnicity, family history and medical history.
As a human being, food consumption is very important. Food provides us nutrients and minerals that we need in order to survive. However, purely eating food does not keep our body healthy. We need to be able to distinguish different types of food molecules.
If we eat food high in fat, it is very likely to get coronary heart disease. Most of the fat molecules are broken down into fatty acid and glycerol when it goes into our body. It is also used as insulation, storage of energy. But this only happens when we consume adequate amount of fat. If there’s too much, the fat molecules (cholesterol) will flow through our artery and build up in there. This causes artery to lose its function. It can not carry oxygen to heart muscle. Since there are no obvious symptoms for that, we don’t actually know. Some cholesterol however is good for our body. ex) HDL Because this actually carries cholesterol from other parts of the body back into the liver.
Many people are not aware of the difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat. A saturated fat is a fat in which the fatty acids all have single bonds. An un saturated fat is a is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain. In order to avoid getting the heart related diseases, we should try to eat unsaturated fat. Saturated fat is often found in animal products such as beef and pork. When saturated fat enters our body, it can help people with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar. Also, it can lower the LDL(cholesterol) level and help develop and maintain our cells. Moreover, these fats contain Vitamin E which is necessary for healthy vision and immune system.
To conclude, fats have a dual characteristic. It can be beneficial at the same time unbeneficial. From those two types of fat (unsaturated and saturated) we should try to eat food containing unsaturated fat since it prevents coronary heart disease. On the other hand, if we consume too much saturated fat, cholesterol will build up in our coronary artery and finally cause coronary heart disease.
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WWW: A lot of detail regarding background information about coronary heart disease its factors. Also good introduction to nutrition in general. The diagram is effective in communicating the difference between an average artery and a CHD affected artery.
ReplyDeleteEBI: The grammar was checked and if had directly stated the link between CHD and a high diet fat in a sentence.
Q: What are some examples of saturated and unsaturated fat?
Saturated fat is found mainly in animal foods. For example, lamb, pork, chicken with skin, whole milk, butter, cheese and ice-cream.
ReplyDeleteUnsaturated fat is found in salmon,olive oil,almonds,and Avocados
WWW: Descriptive background information regarding nutrition and digestion in general
ReplyDeleteEBI: Greater detail regarding how intake of saturated fat leads to high risk of CHD
Question: How do unsaturated fats prevent coronary heart disease?