Study suggests nuts can help you live LONGER
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According to the World Health Organisation, among the leading causes of death are three preventable conditions; heart disease, dementia and cancer. Underlying risk factors for these conditions are varied, but all pertain strongly to lifestyle factors. Optimising your health span over a long period of time may add as many as 14 years to your life.
Dr Paddy Barrett, preventative cardiologist at Blackrock Clinic, said: “If you aspire to be a healthy 100-year-old, you must ask how they die?
“They generally die from the same things as everyone one else does: heart disease, cancer or dementia.
“The important point is that they get these conditions later than everyone else. We must focus on the risk factors for these conditions.”
Noncommunicable diseases are conditions that cannot be passed from one person to another, such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes and dementia. They become more prevalent with age, and account for around 70 percent of all deaths.
READ MORE: How to live longer: Expert divulges five tips to extend longevity by more than a decade
Leading causes of death
Heart diseases are the leading cause of death globally, claiming up to 17.9 million lives each year, which equates to an estimated 32 percent of all deaths worldwide.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimate 9.6 million deaths in 2018, according to the World Health Organisation.
Dementia, on the other hand, severely affects memory and other cognitive abilities that significantly interfere with a person’s ability to maintain their activities of daily living.
While all three conditions are inextricably linked to shorter lifespans, the underlying risk factors for each disease is highly preventable through a modified lifestyle.
Risk factors
“High blood pressure, smoking, high blood sugars, high cholesterol and obesity tend to have the biggest impact,” explained Dr Barrett.
“Living longer then becomes more about avoiding and managing risk factors, as opposed to treating the chronic medical condition of heart disease, cancer, or dementia.
“What most people don’t realise is that obesity is related to 13 different types of cancer and is considered the second leading cause of preventable cancers. Smoking remains the biggest cause of preventable cancers.”
While cholesterol can be lowered through a diet low in saturated fats, salt and sugar, certain exercises can also reduce blood pressure, lowering risk of more serious disease.
Dr Barrett explained: “If by age 50, you are a non-smoker, normal weight, moderately active, consuming modest amounts of alcohol and eating a quality diet you can add 12 to 14 years to your life. As a percentage of your life, that is an exceptionally long period of time.”
Early diagnosis for high blood pressure and high cholesterol could halt the development of further complications.
While high cholesterol has few perceptible symptoms, extreme fatigue, numbness or coldness in the extremities and pain in the neck, jaw or upper abdomen can all signal the condition.
Reducing the amount of cholesterol in the blood can act as a buffer against many serious cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks.
Some causes of the condition include overconsumption of alcohol, sedentary lifestyles, and being overweight.
There are several foods which can actively help lower cholesterol, including:
- Vegetable oil, such as olive, sunflower, corn, rapeseed, nut and seed oils
- Avocado, nuts and seeds
- Fat spreads made from vegetable oils, such as sunflower and olive oil
- Oily fish
Moreover, blood pressure can be characterised by a pounding feeling in the head or chest and a feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness. This condition shares many of the same causes as high cholesterol.
You can test your blood pressure at home using a home testing kit, which can give better reflection of your condition and allow you to monitor your condition more easily in the long term, according to the NHS.
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