Ask the doctor: Heart diseases no more affect only the elderly

It should include a variety of fruits (for vitamins and fibre), a variety of vegetables and meat or lentils (for proteins). Meat eaters should stick to lean meat to ensure that they get proteins without the calorie, while vegetarians should have a large helping of protein rich foods like lentils. It is important that they consume a sufficient quantity of milk and water. As older people have less muscle mass, they need less calories in the food they eat. They also metabolize food slower and hence it takes them longer to burn calories. The amount of activity they do is less and they should have a low fat diet to prevent them from putting on weight.

Heart disease is getting younger by the day in India and striking at unlikely early ages. The incidence of cardio-vascular disease in India has gone up, with 10% of all patients with heart disease being under the age of 40. While getting oneself checked is mandatory, many tend to avoid doing so until they cross their sixties. Sadly, heart diseases are no more known to affect only the elderly. You can protect your heart by getting it checked once every year.