I think we all have a wild era in our lives where we don’t even care what we consume, and some of us stay that way for good. However, a few of us have epiphanies about the importance of our health and start taking care of ourselves.
I guess it’s never too late to start focusing on a proper diet to keep our bodies healthy. When it comes to looking after our hearts, an expert has flagged these 4 things as a “big no-no,” even when everyone consumes them regularly. Piqued your interest, have we? Just scroll down and check them out!
A cardiac surgeon has denounced 4 things that he claims are actually very disastrous for the heart
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Dr. Jeremy London, a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon, said that the first thing on his list is smoking, followed by alcohol
Believe it or not, but the condition of Americans’ hearts doesn’t look so good right now. In fact, studies reveal that, fueled by ongoing increases in high blood pressure, obesity, and other major risk factors, heart disease is the leading cause of fatality in the US. Shockingly enough, a report has indicated that one person is lost every 34 seconds to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Also, let’s not underestimate how costly heart disease can be. As per ScienceDirect, combined direct costs for CVD, such as hospitalizations, procedures, and medications, with indirect costs from lost productivity and caregiving, exceed $500 billion each year and are expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2035. Well, no wonder many experts are speaking out about the importance of a healthy heart.
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Dr. Jeremy London is one such expert whose Instagram and TikTok videos about maintaining a healthy heart are going viral. He is a heart surgeon out in Savannah, Georgia. Basically, he spends his days fixing up damaged blood vessels, doing bypasses on clogged arteries, and operating on hearts that have taken a real beating over the years.
Dr. London laid out four major things he completely steers clear of as a heart surgeon: smoking, alcohol, fizzy drinks, and bread and pasta. For him, smoking is the absolute worst thing you can possibly do to your body. It wrecks your lungs, causes cancer, and spikes your risk for heart attacks and strokes, so his advice is simple: “just don’t do it.”
Alcohol is next on his list, and though he hates to be the bearer of bad news, he points out that it’s essentially toxic to every cell in your body. While he believes it’s ultimately your body and your choice, he shared that cutting out alcohol personally was one of the best, most life-changing decisions he’s ever made.
Image credits: Bizon / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Image credits: everyonephoto / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Then, he slams fizzy drinks as a "big no-no," while the last thing on his "hazardous for the heart" list is bread and pasta
Even though smoking and alcohol were at the top of his list, Dr. London actually saved his harshest criticism for the number three spot: soft drinks. He said people should just stop drinking them altogether. Last on his list were pasta and bread. His advice to people was to avoid anything made with refined flour or wheat.
His logic is pretty straightforward that managing your weight is 80% diet and only 20% exercise, and he guarantees you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Later on, during an interview with Today, he stood by his stance on sodas. However, he did admit to using harsh language to grab people’s attention.
Dr. London explained that he views soft drinks as a real scourge on society and wanted to make a strong point. He added that the real danger lies in how easy it is to mindlessly chug massive amounts of sugar and calories without even realizing it.
Image credits: Fellipe Ditadi / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
He's not the only one speaking against sugary drinks, as other experts also label them as extremely unhealthy
Many experts have expressed concern about these fizzy drinks. In fact, research points out that, on average, Americans are chugging down over 200 calories a day just from sugary drinks. That is a staggering four times as much as people were drinking back in 1965.
It turns out that people’s massive appetite for this “liquid candy” isn’t just a bad habit. Rather, it’s a direct driver behind the skyrocketing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes we see today. Downing these high-calorie, sugary beverages is one of the single biggest reasons people struggle with their weight and blood sugar.
To make matters worse, all this sugar does serious damage to the cardiovascular system, significantly bumping up risk for heart disease. Basically, your body doesn’t register liquid calories the way it does solid food, so you end up overloading your liver and pancreas without ever actually feeling full.
Image credits: Andrej Lišakov / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: pixel-shot.com / Magnific (not the actual photo)
A shocking study found that kids are drinking up to a whopping 30 gallons of sugary drinks every single year. Experts highlight that when all that sugar hits their mouth, it mixes with natural bacteria and turns straight into acid. Over time, that constant acid bath eats away at their tooth enamel, causing weak spots, cavities, and nasty infections.
However, it’s actually a doubly troubling issue. It’s not just the sugar doing the damage, but drinks like sodas and sports beverages are already packed with citric and phosphoric acids. This combination of high sugar and high acidity creates the absolute perfect storm for wrecking a kid’s teeth.
Well, all that definitely sheds light on why Dr. London sternly criticized this beverage. However, netizens were skeptical about his list. Many argued that they have consumed these things for ages without an issue. While others stated that we get just one life, and might as well enjoy it. What are your thoughts on this? We would love to hear from you, so feel free to type away in the comments!
Netizens didn't really agree with his list, while many joked that it's just one life and people should be able to enjoy it
