How To Prevent Plaque Buildup In Arteries

Artery Plaque

Before going any further let me direct you to a few resources on artery plaque that I’ve previously covered here on this site. First and foremost give this past post on how to prevent plaque buildup in arteries a look over for a good overview on what artery plaque is and why it’s important to prevent and reverse plaque buildup in arteries.  Alternatively you may want to read up more on cholesterol and artery plaque.  One very highly rated book on the subject over on Amazon is Steven Sinatra's book on stopping Cardiovascular plaque.

To summarize however I’ll say this; arterial plaque is essentially fatty build up inside the arteries which is a main cause of arterial disease or atherosclerosis which is a main contributor to three of the leading causes of us as a society living shortened lives.

To summarize even further: If you want to know how to live long then you should start out by preventing plaque build up in the arteries.

A Story
This past weekend my wife and I took off for a vacation. We had some familial obligations but we also had some free time so we decided to hit up the local wine country and visit some budding vineyards. We splurged a little bit and definitely had a few glasses of wine too many one of the nights but hey it’s vacation.

On our ride back home earlier this week we started catching up on our podcasts and listened to a whole slew of old episodes of NPR’s Your Health podcast which often touches on many similar disease prevention and longevity secrets that I touch on here on this blog. One episode we listened to struck the two of us more than any other and that was the episode on Longevity Tips.

What I found particularly strange about many of the longevity tips they discussed was not that they preached a lot of what I’ve said over and over here on this blog such as virtually everything I mentioned in my last post on how to increase longevity but also some of the crazy things that I’ve never discussed because I’ve yet to be convinced that they are more than hype.

Anti-aging secrets such as HGH treatments and CRON were discussed as was a new technique in very early developmental stages which is called bioprinting. The concept here is that as your body breaks down you can simply build new organs, tissues, etc. through the use of a bio-printer. Conceptually this will make you virtually immortal as you can always replace whatever part of your body is breaking down.

As fantastic as that seems (and I mean that in the sense of pure fantasy rather than pleasure) I am not about hype and I am not interested in anti-aging techniques that are not proven effective and not simple. I believe that you can live longer very easily by simply doing the right things and mitigating the risks for those most likely to get you in the end… which brings me back to reversing arterial plaque buildup.

Because plaque buildup in the arteries is directly responsible for the major causes of early death as represented by CDC statistics year after year, addressing this problem is the most effective way to lengthen your life. Decrease plaque buildup in arteries and you will more than likely live longer than the average person. It’s that simple.

Preventing Plaque Build Up In Arteries

I already have discussed most of these topics on this blog before but I will iron them out here in simple bullet format for ease of reading and reference. You easily prevent plaque build up in the arteries by:

1. Lower Your LDL Cholesterol Level – When LDL cholesterol levels are too high cholesterol begins building up on your arterial walls causing artery blockages. This is also one of the leading causes of hypertension. Studies have long shown that you can lower your LDL levels by more plant sterols and getting more omega 3 fatty acids.
2. Cardiovascular Disease Prevention With Vitamin D – In addition to eating a healthy diet that supports better cholesterol levels vitamin D has increasingly been shown to be pivotal in preventing arterial plaque build up, hypertension, and heart disease.
3. Lower Systolic Blood Pressure – As previously stated you can lower your blood pressure by preventing arterial plaque buildup but ironically you can help prevent clogged arteries due to plaque build up by lowering your blood pressure. When your blood pressure is high it is more likely to become damaged and more likely to cause plaque buildup. Walking every day is a great way how to lower blood pressure and if you do it outside you will get more sun and make more Vitamin D. Win-win.
4. Maintain a Normal Blood Sugar Range – Elevated blood sugar levels put people in a far greater risk pool for having arterial disease complications. When blood sugar levels are out of control diabetes, heart disease, and stroke risks are all elevated even when all other risk factors have been mitigated. The easiest way to keep a normal blood sugar level is to simply stay active every day… possibly through walking or other moderate exercise By doing so you will help manage better insulin levels, increase HDL cholesterol, preventing plaque build up in arteries, and manage your blood pressure levels better.
5. Lastly, Increase Omega-3 Levels With Wine - Remember moderation though. Don’t follow our lead. :) Wine has been shown to increase omega-3 levels which help to prevent arterial plaque buildup and help to lower the risk of heart disease. It may even be why people from wine drinking cultures seem to live longer as discussed in the Blue Zones.

There you go; this is a simple list of actual things you can do to prevent plaque in arteries from building up and live a longer life. No crazy hocus-pocus; just good old-fashioned advice with plenty of science to back it up. I could easily add to this list but I won’t for brevity. Though I could easily remind you to not smoke. But that’s just too easy. :)

As an aside, you may also find this recent post on natural treatments for clogged arteries handy as well as the aforementioned Sinatra book on stopping cardiovascular plaque from building up.