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k factors for heart
disease are summarized below:
Obesity
* We know that obesity is associated with high blood
pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease,
and stroke, Extreme obesity has also been linked to
several cancers. This means that if you are obese, losing
weight may reduce your chances of developing these serious
diseases or conditions. If you already suffer from
hypertension and are overweight, weight loss alone can
often lower your blood pressure to normal levels. Because
fat (both saturated and unsaturated fat) provides more
than twice the number of calories provided by equal
weights of carbohydrate or protein, decreasing the fat in
your diet may help you lose weight as well as help reduce
your risk of cancer and heart disease. Today, most
Americans get about 37 percent of their daily calories
from fat. Many experts suggest that fat should be reduced
to 30 percent or less of calories.
Heart Disease
* We know that high blood cholesterol increases your risk of
heart disease, especially as it rises above 200 mg/dl
(milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood). The
evidence is clear that elevated cholesterol in the blood,
resulting in part from the foods we eat and in part from
cholesterol made in the body, contributes to the
development of atherosclerosis, a disorder of arteries
that results in their narrowing and in reduced blood
circulation. This condition can lead to a heart attack or
stroke.
* We know that blood cholesterol levels are greatly
influenced by the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol
found in many of the foods we eat. These raise blood
cholesterol levels. (Of the two, saturated fat seems to be
the major dietary factor which affects blood cholesterol.)
To reduce your blood cholesterol level, it is important to
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