A heart surgeon has revealed the six things you should avoid in order to keep your heart healthy, noting that heart disease doesn’t just ‘happen overnight’.
He warns of putting yourself at risk
Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified heart surgeon, told TODAY that he sees firsthand the impact of heart disease on people’s lives.
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The surgeon operates on diseased hearts, repairs damaged blood vessels and performs bypass surgeries.
There are six risky habits people usually fall into
He told the outlet that, in his experience, heart disease ‘didn’t happen overnight in most people’ and that there are six habits that can ‘put yourself at risk that you’re going to end up on my operating room table’.
The first one is smoking
One of the unhealthy habits the surgeon mentions is smoking and vaping, saying that it’s ‘the worst thing you can do for yourself’.
He added that certain people are particularly susceptible to heart disease if they smoke. “If you already have a history of heart disease and have a propensity to atherosclerosis, it actually accelerates that process exponentially,” he said.
The second habit is drinking alcohol
The surgeon said he quit drinking alcohol three years ago, noting that it’s one of the most transformative things he’s ever done. “Alcohol is toxic to every cell in your body,” Dr London said.
“Whether it’s one drink a week or one drink a night, you are still making a choice to put a toxic substance into your body,” he said.
“That being said, it is an individual choice. People have to make good decisions for themselves. It’s your body, your rules.”
He also advised against soft drinks
Dr London went on to discourage drinking soft drinks, saying, “I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention.”
“Obviously, high-calorie soft drinks and ingesting a lot of calories that people don’t realize they’re getting with the sugar-based soft drinks is a big no-no,” he added.
He says to stay away from alcohol-based mouthwash
Another thing Dr London advises against is alcohol-based mouthwash as it can result in increased blood pressure, he says.
“You can actually increase your blood pressure simply by killing the bacteria in the mouth,” he explained. “And if you have a propensity to having high blood pressure, that can even be worse.”
He also says to stave off refined flour
The heart surgeon also says to stave off foods made with refined flour like white bread and pasta. Refined flour goes through a process that gets rid of healthy dietary fiber, iron, and B vitamins.
Instead, he suggests eating foods made with whole grain flour.
Ultra-processed foods are his last no-no
Lastly, Dr London advises against eating ultra-processed foods, saying, “The longer the shelf life, the shorter your life.”
“Limit those things as much as you possibly are able,” he added. Instead, he suggests opting for ‘whole foods’ and things that are minimally processed.