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Foods Our Heart Will Love

Top 10 Heart Healthy Choices

by Judith Fertig

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning once penned this unforgettable line to her husband and fellow poet, Robert Browning.

Let us also count the ways to improve our loved ones’ heart health: Lower blood pressure. Modulate irregular heartbeats. Avoid plaque build-up in arteries. Improve blood flow to the heart.

We can love our hearts with 10 super- foods that just might make perfect ingredients for a Valentine’s Day meal, starting with dark chocolate.

1. Cocoa powder. Cacao’s flavanols lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of stroke and act as antioxidants to prevent inflammation. Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, a physician, doctor of public health and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School affiliate Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, confirms, “Between 400 and 900 milligrams (mg) a day of cocoa flavanols may favorably affect several mechanisms and pathways related to cardiovascular disease prevention.”

Not all chocolate is created equal. Manson recommends chocolate with cocoa or cacao as the first ingredient, not sugar. She and her colleagues are currently conducting the Cocoa Supplement and Multi-vitamin Outcomes Study, a large-scale, randomized study of 18,000 U.S. men and women testing the benefits of ingesting 600 mg per day of cocoa flavanols.

2.  Raspberries. Just one-half cup of berries a day can provide plenty of phytonutrients and antioxidants for decreasing inflammation and preventing heart disease, says Wendy Bazilian, a doctor of public health and registered dietitian in San Diego, and author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet: Lose Weight with the Power of SuperNutrients. “Whirl them into a breakfast smoothie, add them to a green salad or combine them with dark chocolate for a tasty, heart-healthy dessert,” she advises.

3. Salmon. Full of omega-3 fatty acids, wild-caught salmon (about two six-ounce weekly servings) helps reduce systemic inflammation and risk of developing atherosclerosis, hypertension and stroke, according to Dr. Josh Axe, of Nashville, Tennessee. Beyond prevention, omega-3s in oily fish are also widely known to treat atherosclerosis, normalize heart rhythms and help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as significantly lower the risk of stroke.

4. Pumpkin seeds. High in magnesium—about 764 mg per cup— roasted pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, top the list of heart-healthy nuts and seeds. Magnesium is an important electrolyte that helps the heart fire on all cylinders and not skip a beat. Improvements in lipid profiles can occur with a daily intake of 365 mg, or about a half-cup, of pepitas. Enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds as a snack or scatter them in a salad, bowl of chili or soup for a delicious crunch.

5. Avocados. Fresh avocados supply magnesium, plus they’re a good source of potassium, another electrolyte the heart needs for optimum functioning. “You probably know bananas and citrus fruits are top sources of potassium, but I like avocados because they also supply healthy fats,” says Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra, a board- certified cardiologist with the HeartMD Institute, in Manchester, Connecticut.

6. Almonds. Sinatra recommends a handful of almonds a day to raise HDL, a form of “good” cholesterol he likens to a “lipid garbage truck” that picks up oxidized “bad” LDL in the blood- stream and carries it to the liver for processing.

7. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. Cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil with a high phenol content can help lower blood pres- sure (via about two tablespoons daily), make more efficient and protective HDL cholesterol, and protect the inner lining of arteries.

8. Beet Juice. A 2015 study in the journal Hypertension found that two daily eight-ounce glasses of beet juice can help reduce high blood pressure. Beets contain a natural dietary nitrate found in previous studies to lower high blood pressure. Enjoy beet juice in smoothies, as a tart drink known as a “shrub” (beet juice with raspberry vinegar) or in soups like borscht.

9. Garlic. Allicin, the sulfur compound that gives garlic its distinctive aroma, helps keep blood thin and flow- ing optimally, says Sinatra. The freshest chopped garlic offers the best benefits, according to a study from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

10. Pomegranate. Drinking about one cup of pomegranate juice a day for three months can improve blood flow to the heart, reports a study in the American Journal of Cardiology.

The ultimate reason of all to keep our hearts in good working order was voiced by Helen Keller: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

 

 

Judith Fertig writes cookbooks and foodie fiction from Overland Park, KS (JudithFertig.com).

Image: Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock.com

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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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