American Heart Association Study: Weight-Loss Diets May Be Effective for Reversing Carotid Atherosclerosis
March 11th, 2010, Posted in Healthy DietingThe term atherosclerosis (also known as arteriosclerotic vascular disease or ASVD) refers to a process in which fatty deposits (usually cholesterol) and scar tissue gradually accumulate inside the walls of arteries, forming a substance called “plaque” that hardens and narrows the arteries. People with this condition are at increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
A study recently published in Circulation, the American Heart Association Journal, and based on research conducted at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Nuclear Research Center and Soroka Hospital in Israel, indicates that weight-loss diets could have an effect on preventing this condition. The research findings show that healthy, long-term weight-loss diets may significantly reverse carotid (the two large blood vessels the neck that supply blood to the brain) atherosclerosis.