Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in most countries.  These diseases involve the blood vessels, the heart or both.  The circulatory or cardiovascular system supplies the body with blood and consists of the heart, veins, arteries and capillaries.  Cardiovascular diseases are a group heart and blood vessel disorders and include:

• Peripheral Arterial Disease: Disease of blood vessels supplying the arms and legs.
• Rheumatic Heart Disease: Damage to the heart valves and heart muscle from rheumatic fever.
• Coronary Heart Disease: Disease of blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.
• Congenital Heart Disease: Malfunctions of the structure of the heart.
• Deep Vein Thrombosis: Blood clots in the leg veins which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.

There are various risk factors that have the potential to increase a person’s chances of developing cardiovascular disease and these include:

• Having a poor diet.
• Excessive alcohol consumption.
• Lack of physical activity.
• Hypertension.
• Obesity.
• Smoking.

A stroke or heart attack may be the first warning sign of an underlying disease of the blood vessels.  Symptoms of a heart attack include:

• Pain or discomfort in the left shoulder, elbows, jaw or back.
• Pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest. Feeling faint or light-headed.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Breaking into a cold sweat.
• Shortness of breath.

Symptoms of a stroke include:

• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech and confusion.
• Difficulty seeing with one or both eyes.
• Severe headache with no known cause.
• Unconsciousness or fainting.
• Dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Numbness of the arm or leg, face, especially on one side of the body.

“Following a healthy diet is important for reducing the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, cholesterol levels and blood pressure levels.  Exercising, even moderately may have a variety of beneficial effects including weight loss as obesity is also associated with increasing the risks of cardiovascular diseases,” says Gert Coetzee Pharmacist and Diet pioneer, who founded The Diet Everyone Talks About. 

Below he lists some health hints and tips that can help you reduce your risks of getting cardiovascular diseases.

Have a heart-healthy diet: A diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish can help protect your heart.  Avoid eating too much salt, sugar and saturated and trans fats.  Sources of these include deep fried fast foods, baked goods, cakes and biscuits and full fat dairy products.

Make some time for exercising: Doing some regular, daily exercises can help reduce your risks of heart disease.  The heart, just like any other muscle in the body, needs exercise.  When it’s exercised, the heart can pump more blood and continue working efficiently. Quit smoking: Avoiding smoking is the best thing that you can do to protect your heart and blood vessels. 

Cut down on sugary drinks: Sugary drinks are amongst the worst things that you can put into your body.  They are strongly associated with heart and other health problems such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.  Rather drink some water as that comes with many benefits.

Avoid processed foods: Processed food is incredibly bad for your body.  It is low in fiber, protein and nutrients that the body needs and high in refined grains and added sugar.

Below is a delicious recipe for ‘Hake-Vegetable Bake’ that will keep your heart healthy:

• Portions:  6
• Prep time:  30 minutes
• CHD:  7 g per portion
• kJ:  650 kJ

Ingredients:750 g:  Hake, frozen, skin removed (by dipping the frozen fillet in hot water – that insures an easy peeling-off of the skin)

1 large:  Onion, chopped

250 ml:  Mushrooms, sliced

15 ml:  Butter/canola oil

1 large:  Green pepper, seeded, cut into strips

0.5 ml:  Garlic flakes/fresh garlic

2 Celery sticks, cut

1 tin:  Whole, peeled tomatoes

35 ml:  Soya flour/wholewheat flour

To taste:  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Cut the hake into smaller pieces.

Bake fish covered at 180 degrees Celsius for ten minutes.

Stir-fry onion, mushrooms, celery, green pepper and garlic till soft.

Drain the tin of tomatoes, reserving the juice.

Add the chopped tomatoes to the above mixture. 

Warm up, stirring the mixture.

Mix now the reserved tomato juice with the flour and seasoning.

Add gradually to the mixture on the stove while constantly stirring till the mixture thickens.

Spoon this mixture over the baked fish fillets.

Cover the dish and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for twenty minutes.

For more information or if you’d like to join The Diet Everyone Talks About:
Tel: (016) 362 4890
E-mail:                  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website:              http://www.the-diet.co.za/
Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/pg/thediet.co.za/about/?tab=overview
Twitter:                @dietsa

-- ENDS --

Issued By: The Lime Envelope
On Behalf Of: The Diet Everyone Talks About
For Media Information: Kerry Oliver
Telephone: 011 467-9233
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes to the Editor

The Diet Everyone Talks About is a scientific carbohydrate controlled 10-week lifestyle programme that is only accessible at select pharmacies and beauty clinics by professional clinicians and has been utilised by people for 30 years.When you attend your first meeting with the clinician you will be weighed, your BMI (body mass index) will be calculated, and a guideline of what foods you can eat as well as what must be eaten in moderation will be drawn up for you. During this consultation, the clinician will also discuss relevant and sensitive matters such as why you are overweight and how much weight you could expect to lose. These weekly meetings with the clinician, as well as having weekly weight loss goals will assist you in staying motivated and staying on the diet programme.