heart disease

It’s the month of love… the season to make fervent declarations of love, or at the very least, take care of matters of the heart. I thought February is the perfect month to have a heart to heart with you about what really matters keeping the most vital organ of your body in shape. You don’t have to be pushing 90 for this to apply to you. Heart health is of vital importance to people of all ages. Here’s a list of food you must eat to be heart-healthy.

Cinnamon: This innocuous herb has anti-clotting properties and prevents platelets from thickening the blood. Cinnamon is also extremely versatile and can be as much a part of your desserts and coffees as it can be a part of savoury dishes.

Fish: Fatty fish -like salmon -burst with Omega-3 fatty acids, which work beautifully to maintain good cholesterol levels, and also do a great job of protecting your blood vessels from damage, which could result in heart attacks later.

Krill Oil: A relatively newer kid on the block, krill oil contains vital Omega-3 fatty acids, and by virtue of that, works to protect your heart. Extracted from the krill (a kind of underwater crustacean), it is available in capsule form and has also been associated with building immunity, among other benefits.

Vegetable juice: Vegetable -and not fruit -juices are brilliant for the heart and are loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants. Just blend three different raw veggies in a blender (not a juicer), and fill half your glass with half of the veggie pulp and top off with water. Season to taste, and drink immediately.

Turmeric: This small pinch of yellow -a staple in Indian cooking -should be a heart staple, and it helps to reduce cholesterol oxidation, the formation of clots, and also helps to lower bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Vegetables: Heart attacks happen because of the build-up of plaque, which leads to the formation of clots. Vegetables have large amounts of insoluble fibre, an excellent anti-plaguing food. Learn to heart veggies for a good heart.

Fruits: Fruits that contain potassium (plums, peaches and muskmelon) help maintain healthy blood pressure, and make sure your heart doesn’t suffer functional stress.

Oats: Oatmeal is perfect breakfast to have, especially, if you are trying to prevent heart disease or diabetes. The beta glucans (fibre present in oats) is proven to have beneficial effect on the cholesterol levels.

Nuts: Flaxseeds, pecans and hazelnuts are great sources of heart-healthy fats as well. Sprinkle them in salads, add them to your dishes or just pop a few during your day.

Green Tea: Green tea lowers LDL and triglycerides, and has a host of other health benefits.

Dear Pooja,
On various foods, from packaged foreign mayonnaise to even chocolate syrup that you add to milk, I find this common ingredient as an additive – high fructose corn syrup. I have read that this ingredient can cause health problems such as diabetes and so on in the long run. Please tell me more about this suspect ingredient.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the hidden adversary that has crept its way into so many of our packaged foods ranging from baked goods to dairy products, carbonated beverages and almost every sweetened product in the market today. HFSC is sweeter and cheaper than cane sugar and thus used so widely in so many commodities. But this is bad to the last drop. Corn industry promotes that corn sugar is the same as cane sugar when it is not. The biochemistry breakup of cornstarch is very different in the glucose-fructose combination of cane sugar – where it is very easy for the body to break up the HFCS and easily increase blood sugar levels leading to more lipogenesis (fat storage) in the liver. Thus increasing incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and more. It is also claimed that HFCS has high levels of mercury that can be toxic to us. All in all HFCS is not natural food product and if you read it on labels you can be sure that the product is not a whole real fresh food full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant and if you want to stay healthy then stay away from multiple products rich in high fructose corn syrup.

Have a heart

High fructose corn syrup – tell me more!