Welcome back to the second article on how to eat your way to health. The focus of this article is on heart health.

Let’s start with some chilling facts. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number-one cause of death worldwide and kill two and a half times more people than all cancers. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation) 17.5 million people died from CVD in 2012. According to the SA Heart and Stroke Foundation, 130 heart attacks and 240 strokes occur daily in South Africa.

Heart disease is one of the many debilitating diseases caused by inflammation. So, the first step would be to follow a proper diet with a balanced ratio of omega 3 and 6. Why, you might ask. Well, because omega 3 fights inflammation while high levels of omega 6 causes a constant low-grade inflammation. Currently, the western world tends to follow a diet that is too rich in omega 6, so we are encouraging inflammation in our bodies, which is the cause of many illnesses, including heart attacks, atherosclerosis, strokes and arrhythmia.