Learn how lifestyle changes can help reverse some disease effects.
| Health tips: Can a disease be reversed? | | | Dear Reader,
Although our bodies are capable of generating new cells for certain tasks, such as new immune cells or fresh blood cells, the bodies we are born with are the ones we have for life. Once tissues have been damaged by injury or disease, it’s tough to reverse that damage. But it is possible to reverse some disease progression.
An example is coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease develops when the major blood vessels that supply your heart become damaged and diseased. Cholesterol-containing deposits (atherosclerotic plaques) in your coronary arteries along with inflammation are usually to blame for coronary artery disease.
The coronary arteries supply blood, oxygen and nutrients to your heart. A buildup of plaques can damage and narrow these arteries, decreasing blood flow to your heart. Eventually, the reduced blood flow may cause chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, or other coronary artery disease signs and symptoms. A complete blockage can cause a heart attack.
It’s not possible to make the damaged arteries like new again, but it is possible to make it easier for blood to flow through them. Soft plaques that have accumulated in the arteries can be cleared away by eating more anti-inflammatory foods (such as fruits, vegetables and olive oil), using cholesterol-lowering drugs, and taking steps to limit additional artery damage from smoking, chronic stress and high blood pressure.
So although we can’t completely reverse damage done by disease, we can reverse some of its processes and limit additional damage. |
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