Effects of Ketogenic Diets on Cardiovascular Risk Factors
My essay is a research paper discussing how the ketogenic diet helps reduce the risks associated with getting a cardiovascular disease. I struggled adding length and have a few grammatical issues. Anyone have any ideas on how I can increase the length and if there are any grammar/syntax issues? Thanks.
"CVD is today the largest single contributor to global mortality and will continue to dominate mortality trends in the future"(Fuster & Kelly, 2010). Cardiovascular diseases include conditions such as heart attack, stroke, hypertensive diseases, ischemic heart diseases, pulmonary heart diseases, other heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, diseases of blood and lymphatic vessels, circulatory system disorders, and congenital disorders of the circulatory system. Heart disease and stroke alone rank first and third as the leading causes of death around the world. These diseases affect individuals from all backgrounds regardless of age and one-third of adults in the U.S. suffer from one or more types of cardiovascular disease(Mensah & Brown, 2007). Around the world cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is increasing in even low-risk countries. Many countries are adopting the dietary habits of western culture which promotes the overconsumption of refined sugar, reduced omega-3 fats, and salt(Myles,2014). Sugar is a carbohydrate that is found in many foods such as bread and pasta. When there is an overconsumption of sugar, the human body produces an increased amount of triglycerides(Fried & Salome, 2003). Trigylcerides are fatty acids in the human body which constitute for the macromolecule fat in the human body. There is a strong correlation between high levels of triglycerides and cardiovascular disease(Talayero & Sacks, 2011).
Reduced omega-3 fats are trans unsaturated fatty acids which contribute to reducing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. These are healthy fats which are found in olive oil, avacados, salmon, peanut butter, and many more foods. The reduction of these fats in the western diets results in obesity. "Factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease in obesity are multifactorial and include metabolic dysregulation with increased prevalence of atherogenic risk factors, including insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia"(Apovian & Gokce, 2012). Metabolic dysregulation is the interruption of proper metabolic activity in the human body turning it into improper metabolic activity. This results in increased atherogenic risk, which contributes significantly to cardiovascular disease. Salt is a major component in many foods which give food a likable taste. This results in many individuals putting salt on all kinds of food. With all the processed food that is produced in the U.S. most of them contain a high amount of sodium, the primary component of salt. Increased sodium intake results in increased blood pressure. Increased blood pressure can result in a significantly large increase in cardiovascular risk factors.
Since diet is one of the biggest contributors to cardiovascular disease, there are diet changes that can possibly result in the reduction of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. One diet in particular, the ketogenic diet, involves a high fat, low carbohydrate nutritional intake. During the ketogenic diet the human body is deprived of carbohydrates, one of the main sources of energy. This results in the body producing ketones, and these ketones are used for energy in the body. The ketogenic diet reduces the risks associated with getting cardiovascular diseases. This is achieved through the reduction in the levels of serum triglyceride and increased HDL levels, through reducing weight in the individual who implements the diet, and through the reduction of specific biomarkers which promote cardiovascular disease in the body.
The ketogenic diet reduces the levels of serum triglyceride and increases HDL levels in the body which reduces the risks associated with getting a cardiovascular disease. As mentioned before, triglycerides are important fatty acids found in the human body which make up the body fat of an individual. They are found to be associated with cardiovascular disease because they are associated with atherogenic particles and pro inflammatory proteins which promote atherogenesis(Talayero & Sacks, 2011). Atherogenesis is the development of plaque in the arteries. Plaque in the arteries results in blockages which can significantly increase the risk of a heart attack(heart disease) or stroke(cerebrovascular disease). Plaques can also force the heart to pump blood harder which can make the heart walls thicker, which is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a congenital circulatory disorder. According to Talayero & Sacks(2011, p. 1), "Hypertriglyceridemia is a prevalent risk factor for CVD and increasingly important in the setting of current obesity and insulin resistance epidemics". Hypertriglyceridemia translates to high amounts of triglycerides. Therefore high levels of triglycerides contributes to cardiovascular disease.
Lowering triglyceride levels can help reduce plaques and blockages in blood vessels. This results in the heart working better and reduces the risks associated with cardiovascular disease. A ketogenic diet has been shown to decrease the levels of serum triglyceride, " Over 24 weeks, a low-carbohydrate diet program led to greater weight loss, reduction in serum triglyceride level, and increase in HDL cholesterol level" (Williams, p .1, 2004). The ketogenic diet not only reduces the serum triglyceride levels, but it also increases the HDL levels in the body which also reduces the risks associated with getting a cardiovascular disease. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. Lipoproteins are proteins which transport fat throughout the body. They are important because they carry the bad types of fats out of cells. This results in less blockage in blood vessels so the heart can pump efficiently. Therefore increased levels of HDL in the body reduces the risks associated with getting a cardiovascular disease.
The ketogenic diet reduces the weight of individuals who implement it. Obesity is a big contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Obesity is prevalent in about one thirds of the adult population in the United States. As mentioned before obesity contributes to cardiovascular disease by changing the metabolic activities in the human body. This results in insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia. The body is under a large amount of stress when it is struggling to produce insulin and this results in increased blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Hypertension due to obesity happens due to angiotensin II being formed by the extra adipose tissue(Mathieu et al., 2009). Angiotensin II is a powerful vasoconstrictor which means that the blood vessels become more constricted than normal. This results in blood not being able to pump efficiently so the heart increases the blood pressure to get the proper amount of blood all around the body. During the ketogenic diet, the body doesn't have any carbohydrates to use so the body produces ketones instead. Ketones are molecules produced in the liver and they can be used up for energy by the body. The term for a high amount of ketones is referred to as ketonemia. Ketonemia causes the body to feel fuller so less calories are consumed(Brehm et al. 2003). Ketonemia causes sodium dieresis which is the reduction of sodium in the body through the excretion of water and other liquids.
When the body doesn't have any carbohydrates to burn, it burns through abnormal body fat which contributes to weight loss. The body uses ketones and abnormal body fat through a process known as fat oxidation; this results in energy being produced that is eventually used up by the central nervous system(Paoli, 2014). This eventually causes individuals to lose weight because their abnormal body fat is being burned. Therefore the ketogenic diet reduces the weight of individuals who use it because of increased fat oxidation and increased fat loss.
The ketogenic diet reduces the biomarkers which promote cardiovascular disease in the body. Cardiovascular disease doesn't only happen to obese individuals or individuals who promote various risk factors through lifestyle choices such as smoking. It can even happen to healthy individuals due to various genetic biomarkers which cause certain levels of chemicals in the body to be over expressed. Biomarkers are biological components in the body that can indicate whether a certain condition, such as cardiovascular disease, can arise. Some biomarkers which contribute to cardiovascular disease are LDL particle size, postprandial lipemia, and oxidized LDL(Sharma et al., 2002). LDL's are low-density lipoproteins. Unlike HDL's, LDL's can be lethal to the body's cardiovascular system. An increase in LDL's can cause plaques to form in the arteries. These plaques make the heart pump harder which in turn increases blood pressure. During the ketogenic diet, the overall LDL levels go down(Sharma et al., 2002). Postprandial lipemia is a condition that humans maintain after periods of eating. It is characterized by high levels of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. These lipoproteins contribute significantly to the progression of coronary artery disease(Hyson et al., 2003). The ketogenic diet reduces the prevalence of postprandial lipemia(Sharma et al., 2002). Therefore the ketogenic diet reduces the risks associated with getting cardiovascular diseases by reducing the prevalence of various biomarkers such as LDL levels and postprandial lipemia.
The ketogenic diet reduces the risks associated with getting cardiovascular diseases. This is achieved through reducing the levels of triglycerides in the body, increasing HDL levels in the body, reducing weight in the individuals who use it, and reducing the prevalence of various biomarkers in the body which contribute to cardiovascular disease. Triglycerides have been shown to contribute to cardiovascular disease because they are fatty acids which can cause atherogenesis in blood vessels. Atherogenesis is the formation of plaques in blood vessels which can prevent blood from reaching important organs in the body such as the heart, brain, kidneys, etc. Increasing HDL levels in the body results in high-density lipoproteins being able to carry bad fats out of important cells in the body. Carrying out the bad fats results in less blockages in the blood vessels. When individuals lose weight from the ketogenic diet they feel more full on less calories. This is due to the high amount of ketones being produced in the body. Carbiohydrates burn quickly but ketones are burned slowly make the individual producing them to feel more full. The ketogenic diet also results in more fat oxidation which needs glucose and fat to produce energy. Since there isn't enough glucose, more fats are burned particularly the abnormal adipose fat in the body. Some biomarkers which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease are increased LDL particle size, postprandial lipemia, and LDL oxidation. LDL particles contribute to cardiovascular disease because they can block various blood vessels throughout the body. Postprandial lipemia can contribute to cardiovascular disease because it can increase the progression of coronary artery disease. LDL oxidation is the use of LDL's in the body so more LDL oxidation results in a higher chance of plaques forming. The reduction of these biomarkers can contribute to reducing the risk of getting a cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the world. Not everyone exercises, but everyone eats. Humans have to eat to get energy to do their everyday activities throughout the day. One proposal for the department of agriculture and department of education to invest into is the promotion of a high- healthy fat, low carbohydrate diet. There are many high carbohydrate foods which can be replaced by low carbohydrate foods that taste just as good. With the promotion of this diet in our schools, children can learn the importance of preventing cardiovascular disease at an early age. This in turn can be passed on to generations which can increase the overall mortality rate in the world. Cardiovascular disease won't be eradicated completely because an individual has to continue to not smoke or do anything else that contributes to the risks associated with getting a cardiovascular disease. However the diet can still reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease if more people implement it into their daily lives.
Works Cited
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Brehm, Bonnie J., et al. "A Randomized Trial Comparing a Very Low Carbohydrate Diet and a Calorie-Restricted Low Fat Diet on Body Weight and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Healthy Women." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Fried, Susan K, and Salome P Rao. "Sugars, Hypertriglyceridemia, and Cardiovascular Disease." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Fuster, V, and B B Kelly. "Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World: A Critical Challenge to Achieve Global Health." Advances in Pediatrics., U.S. National Library of Medicine
Hyson, Dianne, et al. "Postprandial Lipemia and Cardiovascular Disease." Current Atherosclerosis Reports
Mathieu, P., et al. "Visceral Obesity: The Link Among Inflammation, Hypertension, and Cardiovascular Disease." Hypertension
Mensah, George A., and David W. Brown. "An Overview Of Cardiovascular Disease Burden In The United States." Medicare's Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program
Myles, Ian A. "Fast Food Fever: Reviewing the Impacts of the Western Diet on Immunity." Nutrition Journal
Paoli, Antonio. "Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe?" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Sharman, Matthew J., et al. "A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease in Normal-Weight Men." The Journal of Nutrition
Talayero, Beatriz G., and Frank M. Sacks. "The Role of Triglycerides in Atherosclerosis." Current Cardiology Reports
