Category: Heart Disease

Mediterranean Diet Increases Lifespan

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Mango Summer Salad from SKINNY DISH!

A friend of mine always joked that healthy eating doesn’t make you live longer, it just seems longer. Well, looks like I can finally prove him wrong! A conglomerate of four studies to be published by the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg has shown that a diet rich in vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains, and low in meats and dairy foods increases lifespan and lifetime health. Read the summary here. Just in time to set those veggie-heavy New Years Resolutions. And, I guess I can continue my healthy eating preachery in 2012!

SALT: Helpful in Lowering Cholesterol & Triglycerides?

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Photo by: Nana Odile

Don’t you just LOVE salt? Just a small amount accentuates flavors in foods and makes them SO MUCH MORE enjoyable. If you agree, you’ll be happy to hear that only 50% of people with high blood pressure are sensitive to salt and that reducing it’s consumption helps lower their blood pressure (not new info).

But today, it gets better! The American Journal of Hypertension published a monster meta-analysis (an analysis of many many studies on a certain topic) showing not only that reducing salt intake lowers blood pressure only negligibly (that’s fancy for ‘barely worth it’), but also lowering salt intake greatly INCREASES blood cholesterol levels (by 2.5%) and triglycerides (by 7%).

So, while OD’ing on processed garbage loaded with salt and deficient in true nutrition is still a not-so-good idea, there’s a chance that reintroducing the sea salt shaker to your greens and beans, and dipping your avocado rolls in soy sauce may actually help your blood lipids–even folks who have high blood pressure. Raise that shaker and lemme hear a “La Hiem!”

Top 10 Reasons to Eat Avocados

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Photo Credit: Cyclonebill

What is it about the “alligator pear” that makes them so totally luscious, versatile, and hard to pass-up? Here’s a top 10 compiled by you, me, and some professional avocadists:

10. They’re the perfect baby food. Who doesn’t like baby food?
9.   They put the smooth in a green smoothie.
8.   They’re loaded with vitamin E, knocking out free radicals which can otherwise damage cells and DNA, and lead to wrinkles and cancer.
7.   Despite their high fat content (11 grams per half an avocado), they help to control weight and appetite because the fat is super digestible.
6.   Their color is pretty. Pretty foods make YOU pretty.
5.   They’re a yin food. Yin foods are cooling, calming, and nourishing.
4.   Guacamole, namely the kind that turns my husband into a cute version of profesh chef Bobby Flay. It uses onion, tomato, lime, and salt. And speaking of, about 53 million pounds of guacamole are eaten on both Super Bowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo. That’s enough guac to fill a football field 5 feet deep from end zone to end zone.
3.   They’re a fantastic sandwich “moist-maker.”
2.   They’re heart-healthy, rich in cholesterol-lowering fats, potassium (60% more than bananas), B-vitamins, and essential fatty acids.
1.   They’re considered the world’s healthiest food, rich in 20 vitamins and minerals and all the essential amino acids. If you were stranded on a deserted, avocado-rich island, you would thrive until your rescue.

Other reasons to love avocado?

Meat and Dairy-Free Diet Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases Considerably

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Chili Cook-Off by Bitchin' Dietitian

Couldn’t have said it better myself. In a report issued to all military police in the UK, physicians explain how simply ditching dairy foods and meat could drastically reduce the most serious chronic diseases. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at the Cleveland Clinic explains that on plant-based diets, patients lose weight, blood pressure normalizes, and type 2 diabetes improves or resolves, as do angina, erectile dysfunction, and peripheral vascular and carotid disease.

“We are potentially on the cusp of what could be a seismic revolution in health. This will never come about from another pill, another procedure, another operation, or construction of another cardiac cathedral. It will come about when we are able to show the public the lifestyle that will halt and eliminate 75% of these common, chronic killing diseases. The most essential component of this lifestyle is whole food plant-based nutrition.” Read more and all about it here.

Start with a few veggie-only days per week and you’ll soon see… whole wheat pancakes for breakfast, veggie chili for lunch, and a bean and rice fajita burrito for dinner isn’t so hard or bad… in fact, it’s pretty divine.

Harvard Revises USDA’s “MyPlate”

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Yay for Harvard! Noting that the USDA’s “MyPlate” is based on a mix of science and US agricultural interests (rather than just on science), the Harvard School of Public Health created a much easier to understand “Healthy Eating Plate“, which replaces dairy milk with water saying there’s little evidence that dairy protects bones, and even more evidence that dairy may be harmful to health, and also emphasizing healthier proteins and whole grains, and encouraging some healthy oils and exercise. Read more about both here.

Looks like the country is getting even closer to the plant-powered “Power Plate” created by PCRM! Go plants!

Apples and Pears for Stroke Prevention

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Photo by: DeusXFlorida

Yes, Dr. Oz was in the news today for unjustifiably instilling unnecessary panic about arsenic in apple juice. But this is not about that.

There was also news today from the Journal of the American Heart Association that risk of stroke incidence was 52% lower for people with a high intake of white flesh fruits and veggies (apples, pears, bananas, cauliflower, chicory, and cucumbers) compared to people with a low intake. The study was done comparing fruits and veggies broken down into color groups, and apples and pears made up 55% of the white flesh group. For every 25 gram per day increase in white fruits and vegetables (equivalent to about 1/5 of an apple), there was a 9 percent lower risk of stroke.

So think no more that just because apples and pears aren’t deep green and vibrant orange, they don’t have it (disease prevention) goin’ on. That little old saying may not be far from the truth afterall: An apple or pear a day keeps the stroke doc away. Enjoy one sliced on your hot cereal in the morning, or blended in your green smoothie. Cheers!

Regular Chocolate Consumption Lowers Heart Disease Risk by One-Third

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Photo by: loririce

Thank heavens we made a chocolate glaze for our donuts this weekend! A new meta-analysis in the British Medical Journal concluded that after analyzing the chocolate eating habits of over 100,000 peeps, the highest consumers (exact quantity too hard to measure) had a 37% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, 31% lower risk of diabetes, and a 29% lower risk of stroke. Being that most chocolaty foods are also rich in artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol, it’s important to choose dark chocolate, and small quantities each day. Such As:  a few squares of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Truffle bar, or any of the low-fat, low-cholesterol chocolate delights posted here.

The reason for chocolate’s ability to guard and protect the heart is it’s high concentration of polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. However, beans and veggies are also rich sources of these almighty stewards. So, sounds like a diet rich in veggies topped off with some dark chocolate each day is a perfect plan!

More details in today’s USA Today.

Consuming Hemp Protein Immediately after Workout Helps Build Muscle

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Photo by: Bitchin' Dietitian

According to 2 new studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, consuming 25 grams of protein immediately following a workout greatly improves the body’s ability to build muscle. The studies noted that muscle-building is mainly due to the amino acid leucine, which is especially high in Hemp Seed Protein. Where to get the stuff? Not the local frat house, just head to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. I happen to LOVE the Trader Joe’s Vanilla Hemp Protein Powder. Not only does it have 18 g protein per 1/2 cup scoop, but it’s also high in fiber and the essential heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Can’t get those extra beauties in whey or even soy protein powders!

 

Do These 4 Things, and Live a Longer, Healthier Life

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Photo by: Sam Howzit

A friend of mine always joked that healthy eating didn’t help you live longer, it just seemed longer. Well, now there’s proof. This week’s American Journal of Public Health reported on the lifestyle habits of nearly 17,000 adults and their risk of dying from chronic diseases. Do these 4 things, they concluded, and enjoy life a whole lot longer:

1. Don’t Smoke.
2. Eat Healthfully.
3. Exercise Regularly.
4. Go Easy on the Alcohol.

Happy early Birthday to Besse Berry Cooper–the world’s oldest person–who turns 115 on Friday this week! How does she do it? She minds her own business and doesn’t eat junk food. See?!

Broccoli Crosses Party Lines: Bill Clinton Goes Tofu

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Photo by: World Economic Forum

While George HW Bush may have been anti-broccoli, George W was a floret lover. And now Bill Clinton is declaring his love for green veggies and their ability to reverse heart disease.

Bill may not have made the best lifestyle choices last millenium, including his decision to continue downing donuts and fries after Hillary enlisted heart disease reversal doc Dean Ornish in 1993 to overhaul the White House menu–this move landed him in the OR for a quadruple bypass in 2004. But, after that surgery and then having 2 stents implanted last year, he decided to get drastic and Go Totally Tofu. Now, he’s dropped 20 lbs and has never felt better. Check out his CNN interview or the NPR recap 1 year after his decision to eat a totally plant-based diet (except for a bite of turkey on Thanksgiving….).

If Bill can do it, so can you! Recipes here.