Have you ever wondered if there's a natural way to lower your high blood pressure,

guard against Alzheimer's, lose weight, feel better?

Well, it turns out there is.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

There's a common type of heart condition that causes irregular heartbeats.

It's called atrial fibrillation, or aphib, for short,

and more and more people every year are diagnosed with it.

Today, we start with the best foods to eat and avoid to decrease our risk of aphib.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common clinical arrhythmia, meaning abnormal heart rhythm,

affecting millions of Americans, recognized as a global public health problem due to its

significant burden of death and disease resulting from stroke, heart attacks, and heart failure.

Is there any particular diet that may help prevent or treat it?

Well, recently we learned what not to eat.

Low-carb diets are associated with increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation for a variety of reasons.

First of all, people on low-carb diets may be eating

fewer anti-inflammatory foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Reducing intake of these

anti-inflammatory foods may be one of the important mechanisms for the risk of getting a fib.

Secondly, a low-carboh carbohydrate diet means increased protein and fat consumption,

which may stimulate oxidative stress, the formation of free radicals, which was also demonstrated

to be associated with a fib.

Finally, the effect could result from the increased risk of other cardiovascular disease, which can set

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