With my continued commitment to resist the temptation to treat my patients as a collection of symptoms but to offer the best advice that I possibly can in an attempt to treat the whole patient, here is a list of five suggestions for helping patients with or at risk of CV disease. Maybe you, a family member or someone you know and care about has been diagnosed or may be at risk. Lifestyle changes can go a long way to help patients live a longer healthier life.
1) Can you see yourself having as many as 13 servings of fruits and veggies per day?
It may sound like a lot but it's worth considering for your cardiovascular health. Having a plant based diet is key. The antioxidant properties of fruits and vegetables keeps the heart healthy and may actually be responsible for reversing arteriosclerosis that can lead to a heart attack. But how to get in so many servings you may ask? Easy my friend! Have a serving or two of fruit at breakfast, Have a green smoothie every morning to add in 4-6 servings of fruit and veggies, have a salad for or with lunch, follow up with some veggie snacks mid afternoon and add 2-3 servings of veggies to your dinner plate! There you've done it! over 13 servings for the day without even breaking a sweat!
2) Eat these please:
What specific foods are heart healthy you may ask? Lots of fun delicious stuff is actually also good for your heart. For those of you who know me well you know that if it's not delicious I won't even waste my time let alone my calories! Choose Fish (especially fatty fish,) lean poultry and peas and beans as your protein sources. Olive oil, nut and seed oils as well as fatty fruits like avocados are the good fats. Nut butters and milks can help replace dairy in the diet. Explore recipes that contain Avocado, chickpea, grapefruits, pear, squash, berries, nuts and seeds including sunflower seeds, walnuts and cashews. A few of many other heart protective foods include beets, bananas (which are a good source of potassium,) broccoli, grapes, macadamia nuts and peaches.
3) No no's:
Ok here's the bad news that you already knew: Too much salt, sugar, coffee and alcohol are a no no. Tobacco should be avoided too. Skip the saturated fat, trans fats, processed meats and red meats.
4) Supplements can help.
Are you taking your foundational multi vitamins? How about your Omega 3's, Co Q10, antioxidants (eg pycnogenol) and probiotic? For patients who have established cardiovascular disease, talking to your healthcare provider about balancing your folates, potassium, calcium, magnesium, as well as vitamins A, E and C is important. There are also some studies that show that Aloe Vera Juice may help in reducing cholesterol levels.
5) Cardiovascular exercise
It's called cardiovascular exercise for a reason. The guidelines recommend at least 40 min three times per week.
Bonus: Ditch the stress!
What are you doing to reduce your stress? Yoga? Meditation? Exercise? Music...? Whatever you need to do to reduce your stress levels it's most likely worth it and probably one of the most important things you can do for your overall health. Enough said!
Doc #1 Hippocrates said: Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food! When I was pursuing my masters in clinical nutrition I was amazed at just how much we could change our lives simply by focusing on our lifestyles! As always, these are general recommendations and I do suggest that you talk to your healthcare provider before starting any new health regimen/ program. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to all us in office 860-589-1491 and we will be happy to schedule an appointment.
Regards in health,
Dr. Shepherd
