Eating apples regularly can: Multiple studies have found that apples effectively lower LDL (bad) cholesterol while simultaneously helping eliminate excess cholesterol from the veins and arteries – thereby helping prevent cardiovascular disease.
Drinking 12 ounces of apple juice a day significantly slowed one of the processes that clog arteries and can lead to a heart attack, the study shows. To a lesser degree, eating two apples a day also helped slow the process. The trick is to stop oxidation of unhealthy lipoproteins, or LDL.
A healthy diet rich in nutrient-dense foods may help reduce your risk of developing clogged arteries. Research has shown that adding foods like cruciferous vegetables, fish, berries, olive oil, oats, onions, greens, and beans to your diet may be an effective way to prevent atherosclerosis.
Could be good for your heart. Apples have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease ( 13 ). One reason may be that they contain soluble fiber. This kind of fiber can help lower your blood cholesterol levels.
You can “unclog” your arteries with natural methods, including diet, exercise, and stress management. Quitting smoking, if you smoke, can also help reverse plaque.
The key is lowering LDL and making lifestyle changes.
"Making plaque disappear is not possible, but we can shrink and stabilize it," says cardiologist Dr. Christopher Cannon, a Harvard Medical School professor. Plaque forms when cholesterol (above, in yellow) lodges in the wall of the artery.
A coronary angioplasty is a procedure used to widen blocked or narrowed coronary arteries (the main blood vessels supplying the heart). The term "angioplasty" means using a balloon to stretch open a narrowed or blocked artery.
In vitro (15–19) and animal (19–23) studies suggest biological mechanisms through which magnesium may prevent or reverse plaque formation and calcification.
Turmeric
Turmeric is one of nature's most potent anti-inflammatories, due to a compound called curcumin. This not only reduces arterial inflammation, but also fatty deposits known as plaque, by as much as 26%! That's pretty impressive for a pinch of spice.
Coronary angioplasty is a procedure to open arteries around the heart that have become narrowed or blocked by a build-up of fatty material.
Like a one-two punch, a fatty diet and the body's own immune system conspire to bring on heart disease. Fat and cholesterol clog arteries and block blood flow, starving the heart of oxygen.
Drinking teas, such as green or black tea, rooibos tea, or ginger tea may be good heart-healthy substitutes for other beverages. A study from 2011 found that drinking 6 cups of rooibos tea per day for 6 weeks helped to lower the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood in adults who were at risk for heart diseases.
The overall evidence suggests that supplementation with long-chain omega-3s reduces, and can positively remodel, atherosclerotic plaque formation.
The new study found, however, that rupture was significantly related to the depletion of proteins in the basement membrane, a thin layer that surrounds cells that cover the plaque. Loss of these cells weakens the plaque structure and leads to rupture.
For example, the fiber in oatmeal can lower our blood cholesterol levels so that less gets stuck in our arteries, but there also are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients in oats that can prevent atherosclerotic build-up and then help maintain arterial function (see Can Oatmeal Reverse Heart Disease?).
A. Yes, lifestyle changes, including diet, smoking cessation, stress management and exercise, can decrease the size of atherosclerotic plaques. They can also help to stabilize them so that they are less likely to break off and block blood flow, decreasing your risk of a heart attack.