Cardiovascular diseases are complications that affect the heart and blood vessels. They include congenital heart disease, heart valve disease, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, stroke etcetera, with most of them caused by a blockage or semi-blockage of the blood vessels and/or inflammation and other damage from free radicals.
Foods are the major contributors to cardiovascular diseases, but they and drinks can also be a great way to reverse or prevent them. The following four are such drinks:
1. Green tea
Green tea speeds up the burning of fats because of the chemical ECGC it contains. This means extra fat molecules in the blood are used up before they have any chance of piling up to block a blood vessel, which is the main cause of many heart and cardiovascular diseases. The burning of fat molecules increases the metabolism rate which will in turn increase heart function and blood flow.
Green tea also contains antioxidants that prevent inflammation from occurring in tissues including cardiovascular organs and tissues, by fighting free radicals produced from chemical reactions in the body.
2. Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate contains more than two times the amount of antioxidants than most other drinks. This incredible amount of antioxidants makes it a formidable weapon in fighting free radicals that may cause cardiovascular damage in addition to other ailments.
3. Black tea
When the leaves of black tea are fermented to make the tea, a lot of very powerful antioxidants are created that have been shown to lower blood LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels (referred to as bad cholesterol), thereby reducing the chances of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases from developing. The antioxidants in black tea have also been shown to increase blood flow through coronary arteries, and better the performance of blood vessels in general.
4. Red wine
Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in grapes, is contained in abundance in red wine along with many other compounds that protect cardiovascular function. It has antioxidant qualities that is thought to inhibit blood clots from forming in blood vessels, and enhance the performance of other blood vessels found in the heart.
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