Food Cures (19 page)
Authors: Carol Svec
DINNER OPTIONS
(Approximately 500 to 600 calories)
Wild Salmon Salad with Parmesan Baked Potato
1 serving Wild Salmon Salad with unlimited leafy greens. Enjoy with ½ plain baked potato topped with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.
Breakfast for Dinner: Almond-Berry Oatmeal
¾ cup dry instant oatmeal prepared with 1½ cups fat-free milk, topped with 2 tablespoons slivered almonds and 1 cup mixed berries (sliced strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries). Sweeten with optional 1 teaspoon sugar, honey, or artificial sweetener.
Whole Wheat Pita Pizza with the Works
Toast 1 split whole wheat pita bread (or use 200 calories of whole wheat pizza crust). Top each pita half with 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons marinara sauce and ¼ cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese, plus ½ cup sweet pepper sticks and unlimited chopped broccoli florets pre-sautéed in nonstick cooking spray. Top each half with 2 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese. Heat in 350°F oven until cheese melts and bubbles. Season with crushed red pepper and oregano.
Healthy Chicken Parmesan and Broccoli
1 serving Healthy Chicken Parmesan and Broccoli.
Sweet and Sour Tofu-Veggie Stir-Fry
1 serving Sweet and Sour Tofu-Veggie Stir-Fry. Serve with 1 cup cooked brown rice.
SNACK OPTIONS
100 calories or less
- Best Vegetables:
1 cup raw or cooked turnip greens, mustard greens, broccoli, kale, bell peppers, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, snow peas, rutabaga, summer squash, or okra- Best Fruits:
1 guava, orange, kiwi, or tangerine; 2 clementines; ½ mango, grapefruit, papaya, or cantaloupe; 20 strawberries; 1 cup watermelon, raspberries, sliced strawberries, blackberries, or pineapple- 1 hard-boiled egg
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1 cup diet hot cocoa (100 calories or less)
- ½ cup fat-free or 1% reduced-fat cottage cheese
- 10 almonds
100 to 200 calories
- ½ cup frozen yogurt or ice cream (fat-free or low-fat)
- 1 cup (6- to 8-ounce container) fat-free, flavored yogurt
- 1 serving (2 cups) Tropical Mango-Citrus Smoothie
- 1 serving (2 cups) Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie
- ¾ cup whole grain cereal with 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1 cup fat-free milk with 1 cup berries (sliced strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries)
- 20 almonds
BROCCOLI-CHEESE SOUFFLÉ
This guilt-free soufflé provides twice the amount of vitamin C you need every day, and more than 40 percent of your daily requirement for calcium. The delicious flavor (and healthy ingredients!) will have you smiling.
Makes 2 servings
2 | | teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese |
6 | | egg whites plus 3 yolks, at room temperature |
¼ | | teaspoon salt, plus more to taste |
2 | | tablespoons reduced-fat, soft tub, trans fat-free margarine spread |
2 | | tablespoons all-purpose flour |
1 | | cup fat-free milk, heated just to a simmer on stovetop or in microwave |
½ | | teaspoon paprika |
¼ | | teaspoon nutmeg |
| | | Ground black pepper to taste |
1 | | bunch broccoli, cut into florets (about 3 cups) |
¼ | | cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (or water) |
1 | | shallot or 1 small onion, minced |
¼ | | cup plus 1 tablespoon finely grated reduced-fat Swiss cheese |
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a 6- or 8-cup ceramic gratin dish with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle the inside with the Parmesan cheese.
- In a large metal bowl, beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until the egg whites become stiff but not lumpy, 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the margarine until it begins to foam. Add the flour and mix vigorously until the flour turns to a paste without browning, 2 to 3 minutes. Off the heat, pour in the hot milk, and whisk quickly until the mixture is smooth. Add the paprika, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce becomes heavy and thick. Remove from the heat. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- In a blender, puree the broccoli and broth or water. Stir the broccoli mixture, shallot or onion, and ¼ cup Swiss cheese into the milk mixture. With a spatula, gently fold in one-third of the egg whites, lifting the milk mixture from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the milk mixture to the bowl with the remaining egg whites and continue to fold until just combined, without deflating the egg whites.
- Pour into the prepared gratin dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Swiss cheese. Bake, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes, until the soufflé puffs and is golden on the top. Serve immediately.
PER SERVING
343 calories, 29 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat (5 g saturated), 317 mg cholesterol, 788 mg sodium, 4 g fiber; plus 77 IU vitamin D (20% DV), 470 mg calcium (48% DV), 120 mg vitamin C (200% DV)
STRAWBERRY-KIWI SMOOTHIE
Refreshing and easy to make, one serving provides almost twice the amount of vitamin C you need for an entire day! This smoothie also provides tooth-strengthening calcium and vitamin D from the milk…and all for only 155 calories.
Makes 2 servings, 2 cups each
1½ | | cups fat-free milk |
1 | | cup strawberries, hulled and quartered |
2 | | kiwis, peeled and quartered (about ½ cup) |
2 | | tablespoon fresh mint, chopped, plus two sprigs for garnish |
1 | | tablespoon granulated sugar or sugar substitute |
1 | | cup crushed ice |
In a blender or food processor, combine the milk, strawberries, kiwis, chopped mint, sugar or sugar substitute, and ice and blend until smooth. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.
PER SERVING
155 calories, 8 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 81 mg sodium, 4 g fiber; plus 75 IU vitamin D (19% DV), 270 mg calcium (27% DV), 113 mg vitamin C (188% DV)
TROPICAL MANGO-CITRUS SMOOTHIE
Here’s another fabulous smoothie recipe you can enjoy anytime, for health or just for pleasure.
Makes 2 servings, 2 cups each
1½ | | cups fat-free milk |
1 | | medium mango, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup) |
1 | | medium orange, zest, peeled and chopped (about ½ cup), plus 1 sliced orange for garnish |
1 | | lime, zest and juiced |
1 | | teaspoon minced fresh ginger |
1 | | cup crushed ice |
- Zest the orange (can use vegetable peeler), and set aside the zest. Peel the orange, and chop.
- Zest the lime, and set aside the zest. Juice the lime.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the milk, mango, chopped orange, lime juice, lime and orange zest, ginger, and ice and blend until smooth.
PER SERVING
171 calories, 8 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium, 4 g fiber; plus 75 IU vitamin D (19% DV), 277 mg calcium (28% DV), 73 mg vitamin C (122% DV)
LIVING LONG AND STRONG
CHAPTER 7
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
O
ne spring day, Wendy noticed the world’s longest conga line of ants traveling across her driveway, heading into her garage. From there, the ants disappeared into an almost imperceptible crack near an interior wall. She called an exterminator, expecting to get a bill for a hundred dollars or so for spraying around the garage. Instead, she ended up with an estimate of $12,000. As with heart disease, what looked to be a small isolated problem from the outside turned out to be a sign of a much bigger problem developing out of sight.
You see, seven years earlier, Wendy and her husband decided to do a little home remodeling, including an upstairs bathroom. It turns out that there was a tiny hole in the floor of their newly installed shower—a hole that dripped water onto the beams holding up the second floor. At first, that small amount of water had no noticeable effect but over the years it added up to a couple
billion
drops. The subflooring and wood studs had rotted—ambrosia to carpenter ants, which knew a good thing when they found it and made a nest. So, in addition to the cost of fumigating the whole house, the shower stall had to be removed, tile pried up, subfloor and studs ripped out and replaced, new tile installed, et cetera, et cetera. Many thousands of dollars worth of “et cetera.”
Cardiovascular disease is a lot like Wendy’s house. Many people ignore their doctors’ warnings about high cholesterol or blood pressure numbers because they feel perfectly healthy. But those numbers are just the ants on your body’s metaphoric driveway, the thing that clues you in to what’s going on
inside
. By the time you get diagnosed with high cholesterol or high blood pressure or high triglycerides, you may already have significant structural damage.
I often tell my clients to take nutritional changes at a pace that feels comfortable to them. That’s not good enough when it comes to cardiovascular disease. The consequences of doing too little are severe—heart attack, stroke, pain, debility, death. Sadly, not everyone gets a second chance. So don’t wait until after your next vacation, or your daughter’s wedding, or that anniversary dinner to start. My advice is to start immediately and go for broke! Change your diet, change your habits, change your lifestyle. I’ll show you the how in this chapter. No matter what your risk factors, there are things you can start doing now.
WHAT AFFECTS
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE?
Oxygen enters the blood stream through the lungs. The blood goes through the heart, which pumps it throughout the body to carry oxygen and nutrients to every cell, from the hair follicles on your head to your toes. Because blood has to travel to such remote areas, blood vessels have to come in various sizes, from the thick arteries and veins that branch off from the heart, to the tiny capillaries that feed the tiniest, most distant parts of your body. Cardiovascular disease, also commonly called
heart disease
, can affect any part of this vast network, from the heart (
cardio
-) through all the blood vessels (-
vascular
).
Healthy blood vessels are flexible and strong, capable of containing the pulsing pressure of rushing blood, heartbeat after heartbeat, year after year, for a lifetime. We’d like to think that they are durable, too, but the reality is that vessels are relatively fragile. Think about Monarch butterflies. They migrate hundreds of miles in a single season—some more than 1,500 miles—on wings that are so fragile that they can be destroyed with a single touch. That’s what blood vessels are like: tough but delicate, sturdy but vulnerable. If anything goes wrong and blood can’t get to all parts of the body, cells won’t receive the nutrition and oxygen they—and you—need to survive. If blood can’t get to the heart, the result is a heart attack. If blood can’t get to all to portions of the brain, the result is a stroke. In other words, the blood must keep flowing.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (HYPERTENSION)
As the heart contracts to pump blood through the arteries, the force of that rushing blood against the vessel walls is called
systolic blood pressure
. As the heart relaxes between beats, the blood presses less forcefully against the vessel walls, as reflected by
diastolic blood pressure
. When you go to the doctor, your blood pressure is given in two numbers: systolic pressure over diastolic pressure, measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
Physicians recommend that you maintain blood pressure at or below 120/80 mmHg, but high blood pressure (HBP) is medically defined as any reading higher than 140/90 mmHg. Readings of 121 to 130 systolic or 81 to 89 diastolic are considered prehypertension, a warning that blood pressure may soon rise into the danger zone. The higher your blood pressure, the greater your risk of disease, including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and other blood vessel disorders. Even prehypertension causes physiologic changes that can be thought of as
preatherosclerosis
. That’s because when blood pressure is higher than normal, it pummels the delicate lining of blood vessels. Left untreated, HBP can cause structural damage and inflammation. In addition, HBP can trigger a condition called
atherosclerosis
—the formation of plaque, a fatty substance that builds up on the inside of the vessels, making them narrower and less flexible, and choking the blood supply to every part of the body. Mind you, these narrow vessels must still carry the same amount of blood as they did when they were healthy, which only adds to the pressure the vessel walls must bear. So high blood pressure is a risk factor for even higher blood pressure. That’s why blood pressure problems never really go away—once you have damage from HBP, you’ll have to fight to control it forever.
FAQS
I have high cholesterol, and I’ve heard that red yeast rice works the same as some of the statin drugs. I’ll do anything to avoid taking medication. Does red yeast rice work? Is it safe?
Red yeast rice does work to lower cholesterol, but only because it contains naturally occurring chemicals that are identical to medicinal statins. They work the same, and they have the same risks and side effects—including possible liver toxicity and muscle pain or weakness. The difference is that prescription medications are standardized, regulated, and produced in a sterile environment. The amount of active ingredient in each dose of red yeast rice can vary from package to package, or even from capsule to capsule in the same package. Worse, red yeast rice may contain contaminants, some of which may cause serious illness. This is one of those cases when
natural
doesn’t mean better. If you want the benefits of red yeast rice, talk with your doctor about whether you should start taking a statin medication.
If you’ve been diagnosed with HBP, your doctor has probably already told you the basics. You can control blood pressure by getting to and maintaining a healthy weight, reducing your bad cholesterol (LDL) if it’s high, limiting the salt in your diet, exercising, and adding calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and potassium to your diet (discussed below).
HIGH LDL CHOLESTEROL, LOW HDL CHOLESTEROL
Cholesterol is a natural fat-like substance found in all animal tissue—humans included—because it is part of all cell membranes. Cholesterol is also part of the myelin sheath that surrounds and protects nerves, and it is used to make vitamin D, bile, and some hormones. Our bodies make all the cholesterol we need for health, but we also get cholesterol from eating meat, poultry, and fish. (Incidentally, cholesterol is
never
found in plant-based foods, so “cholesterol-free!” labels on products like peanut butter are really just stating the obvious.)
Cholesterol comes in two main varieties: low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (commonly called
bad cholesterol
—remember L for
lousy
), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (
good cholesterol
—remember H for
hero
). LDL cholesterol is one of the components of vessel-clogging plaque. Over time, plaque can incorporate calcium and other substances that make the plaque hard and brittle. If the plaque deposits grow large enough, they can block a blood vessel. In addition, the brittle plaque can break off, travel through the blood stream, and form a clot anywhere in the body.
The higher your LDL cholesterol, the greater your risk of developing life-threatening plaque. So, you want your
low
-density
low
. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the optimal level of LDL cholesterol is below 100 mg/dL. High LDL cholesterol is defined as 160 mg/dL and higher—but certainly anything above 130 is worth treating.
HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, is like nature’s plaque vacuum cleaner—it picks up the vessel-clogging cholesterol and carries it away to the liver, where it is disposed of in the form of bile. The higher your HDL levels, the cleaner your blood vessels will be. So, you want your
high
-density
high
. According to the NIH, people with HDL of 60 mg/dL or higher have a lower risk of heart disease, whereas HDL below 40 mg/dL is considered too low.
Because HDL is so important to the health of blood vessels, some physicians prefer to talk about the cholesterol ratio—your total cholesterol divided by your HDL cholesterol. For example, if your total cholesterol number is 250 and your HDL is 50, your ratio is 250/50 or 5. A ratio of 3.5 is considered optimal, and people are urged to aim for a ratio of 5 or less.
Interestingly, men and women may need to pay attention to different numbers. With women, LDL cholesterol and the cholesterol ratio are equally valuable for predicting risk of atherosclerosis. With men, the ratio may be more important—having near optimal levels of LDL may still be dangerous if HDL is too low and the cholesterol ratio is too high. If any of your numbers are high (or if your HDL is low), it’s important to make cholesterol control a priority.
High cholesterol can be caused by several factors, some you can change, and some you can’t. Heredity can play a big part. Some people can have a perfect heart-healthy lifestyle, and still have skyrocketing cholesterol because their bodies naturally make too much of it—our bodies’ production of cholesterol is independent from what we eat. Also, LDL cholesterol increases naturally with age, so even if you put up all-star numbers when you were younger, each passing year has made you that much more likely to have problems. Men naturally have higher cholesterol than women, but the female advantage fades when the hormonal changes of menopause lead to a steep rise in women’s LDL cholesterol.
And as if high LDL cholesterol wasn’t dangerous enough on its own, results of a study published in a 2006 issue of the journal
Hypertension
showed that people who had high LDL cholesterol or a high cholesterol ratio had an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. People with a level of bad cholesterol (non-HDL cholesterol, which includes LDL and other dangerous cholesterol forms, such as very low-density lipoprotein and intermediate-density lipoprotein) higher than 190 had about a 30 percent greater risk of developing HBP compared with people with bad cholesterol levels of less than 160. Even worse, people with a cholesterol ratio of 6 or higher had a 47 percent increased risk of HBP compared with people who had ratios of 4 or less. On the other hand, people with HDL (our hero) of 53 or higher, had a 32 percent
decreased
risk of developing hypertension. Really, these results make sense. High LDL cholesterol leads to atherosclerosis…which causes narrowing of the blood vessels…which means your heart has to pump that much harder to squeeze blood through them…which means increased blood pressure. You can improve your cholesterol profile by reducing body weight (if you are overweight), increasing physical activity, and following my cholesterol-busting nutrition program.
FAQS
There are so many reports about cholesterol-lowering supplements, especially policosanol. How can I tell what is valuable and what isn’t?
You’re right—it seems that every time you open a magazine there’s a story about another miracle supplement. Policosanol is a sugar cane extract that has been touted as a way to reduce cholesterol. But a rigorous 2006 study showed that even 80 milligrams of high-quality policosanol per day didn’t have any effect on cholesterol. As I write, there is preliminary information that says that cinnamon and cloves (in supplement form only, not from food) may help lower cholesterol. This is potentially good news, but it is too early to recommend seeking out cinnamon supplements. You don’t want to be a guinea pig, one of the first to test out some new treatment—there may be undiscovered side effects or you may waste money on a worthless treatment. On the other hand, you also don’t want to miss out on a treatment that the medical community has embraced. My advice is to read everything, and if you see something interesting, make a copy and take it to your doctor. It can’t hurt to ask a professional, and most doctors are happy when their patients are proactive about improving their health.
HIGH TRIGLYCERIDES
Triglyceride
is just a fancy word for
fat
—the fat in our bodies is stored in the form of triglycerides. Triglycerides are found in foods and manufactured in our bodies. As with cholesterol, eating too much of the wrong kinds of fats (more about that in the sections on saturated and trans fats below) will raise your blood triglycerides, but some people also have a genetic predisposition that causes them to manufacture way too much triglycerides on their own, no matter how carefully they eat. Triglyceride levels can shoot up after eating foods that are high in saturated fats or carbohydrates, or after drinking alcohol. That’s why triglyceride tests require an overnight fast. Triglycerides can become elevated because of genetics, or in reaction to having diabetes, hypothyroidism, or kidney disease. As with most other heart-related factors, being overweight and inactive also contribute to abnormal triglycerides.