Chef Wendell: Preventing heart attack
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Each year about 735,000 Americans suffers a heart attack (CDC). That’s about every 34 seconds. Good news: eating a diet composed of grains, beans, nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens, fresh garden produce, good fats and fiber are proven to prevent a heart attack. Food has everything to do with heart health. Not just for the aging, Harvard Medical School reports up to 10% of all heart attacks now occur under the age of 45.
1st Segment: Heart Disease statistics in America today. Prepare a dark leafy green salad and dressing; displaying foods that prevent heart disease.
2nd Segment: Foods that prevent heart disease; preparing beans and brown rice; more about good foods.
• “With what we now know…we could see the last heart attack in America.” (CNN Sonja Gupta) The Last Heart Attack – A Groundbreaking CNN Report by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
• Are you a heart attack ready to happen?
• Do you regularly eat junk food and can’t get into plant foods?
• Food has EVERYTHNG to do with heart health.
• Good News! You can make yourself heart attack proof.
• Eat cleaner and closer to earth and exercise regularly and you’ll never have a heart attack.
• Nutritional yeast is a source of B vitamins, including thiamine, folate, B-6 and niacin. Just about half tablespoon will provide a day’s worth of B vitamins.
• B vitamins reduce death from strokes and heart disease.
Heart Maintenance Salad:
8 cups total coarsely chopped kale, arugula, and spinach
½ avocado
Asparagus spears
Tomato wedges or halved cherry tomatoes
Sliced red onion
Dressing:
2 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or Water)
2 Tsp. lemon juice
! Tbsp. ground flax seeds-Omega 3 and fiber
2 Tbsp. tamari Soy Sauce
4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Walnut pieces as garnish-Omega 3, fiber and protein
• Wash and de-stem the greens. Spin dry.
• Cut avocado in half and remove ½ for each salad.
• Wash and prepare tomatoes
• Trim and blanch asparagus or just leave it raw for more vitamins.
Beans and Brown Rice
1 cup red beans, drained
1 yellow onion, chopped coarsely
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Himalayan salt
½ tsp. black pepper
4 cups cooked brown rice
2 green onions, chopped (garnish)
Walnut, almond, or cashew pieces (garnish)
• Add 2 Tbsp. oil to a sauté’ pan, over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the garlic and yellow onion. Sauté and stir for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the beans, rice, salt and pepper; gently mix. Turn off heat.
• Serve and garnish with green onions and nuts.
Heart healthy foods:
Legumes:
• Soluble fiber 3-4 servings of legumes each week: lentils, kidney beans, Lima beans, chickpeas help remove LDL cholesterol from your system.
Fresh Produce: (green, red and yellow) 7-9 portions
• Avocados, asparagus, pomegranate, broccoli, persimmons, spirulina, cranberries and watermelon all have positive effects on the circulatory system and aid in the reduction of fatty deposits in the arteries.
Dark Leafy Greens:
• Study show 1 daily serving of green leafy vegetables, lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 11 percent. ( the Adventist health study)
• Clear arteries of plaque
• Dark leafy greens, spinach and kale, provide magnesium for blood pressure regulation.
Whole Grains:
• The American Heart Association recommends at least six servings of whole grains daily.
• Steel-cut oatmeal, oat bran, barley and rice bran are whole grains containing soluble fiber, which binds to excess LDL cholesterol and allows it to pass from your body.
• Whole grains contain magnesium, which dilates blood vessels, keeping your blood pressure healthy.
• Vegetables contain plant sterols, which whisk away harmful LDL cholesterol from your body.
• Enjoy 3-5 servings per day of a variety of deeply colored vegetables: sweet potatoes, broccoli and carrots.
• Vegetables contain potassium, which can counter salt’s ability to raise blood pressure.
Nuts:
• Almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts 3-4 weekly servings of nuts, seeds and legumes recommended by the American Heart Association.
• omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids help keep your arteries healthy,
• Magnesium prevents plaque formation and keeps blood pressure steady.
• You only need a handful at a time because nuts are high in calories.
Oil:
• Unrefined, unheated coconut oil
• Avocado oil
• ‘REAL” extra virgin olive oil
• Fish oil
• Avoid Trans-fats completely
• NO bacon grease