Are You Feeding Your Heart Properly!
Do
you have heart palpitations, shortness of breath, rapid or irregular
heartbeats,
anxiety, spontaneous sweating, nausea, indigestion, weakness and fatigue
or dizziness?
These are just a few symptoms that could be related to the health of your
heart and Heart Disease.
Many people don’t consider what they are putting into their mouths and the
impact
it may have on our different organ systems such as the heart. We live in a
world of convenience and lets face it, because of this many of us look for
quick and easy solutions for meals. We are in the habit of fast preparation
verses time, love and nutrition.
Many of the foods we eat are processed, full of sugars and indigestible
toxic ingredients.
Contrary to popular belief, high cholesterol is not the major cause of
heart disease.
Fortunately, we are moving slowly away from the original
diet-heart hypothesis that advocated low-fat diets for a healthy heart.
What are the really Bad things in processed foods?
1. Trans-fats
Avoid anything on the label that says "hydrogenated" or "partly
hydrogenated." Don't be fooled by labels, though. Through a weird
loophole, a product can be labelled "trans-fat free" if there is half a
gram of trans-fat or less per serving. So what do the friendly food
manufacturers do? They decrease the serving size. Presto - disease through
creative mathematics!
Just in case you need some motivation: Walter Willett, a Harvard professor
of nutrition, estimates that if trans-fats disappeared from the US, there
would be 228,000 fewer heart attacks.
2. Herbicides and Pesticides
These are our silent and toxic killers. Herbicides and pesticides in our
foods have been linked to a toxic liver, neurological issues, heart
disease, fatigue, obesity from
toxic overload, etc.
Try to buy organic whenever possible. Not only is it better for the health
of your
body and your heart, it is also better for the environment and the planet
all together
as a whole.
3. Artificial Colors and Flavours
Especially if you have kids who tend toward hyperactivity, please avoid
all artificial ingredients. Our bodies simply have no way of processing
them. Usually they are labelled as artificial colors and flavours. Some
packages give you government's stamp of "approval," as in FD&C Yellow #6.
All this means is that their inadequate testing hasn't yet found a link
between the totally unnecessary substance and disease. Since 1918, the
government has allowed, and then banned, 17 different food dyes.
4. Sugar
Here's a partial list of sugary synonyms on labels:
Aspartame – Please avoid this one at all costs. Aspartame is found in many
diet drinks, gum, some fiber drinks such as Metamucil etc.
Corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup
Sorbitol
Maltitol
Isomalt
Maltodextrin
Dextrose
Glucose
Fructose
Maltose
Sugar in all forms spikes our blood sugar levels and in turn puts extra
stress on our
heart and liver. There are many dis-eases in the body that could be
prevented just
from cutting out sugar in our daily lives. Our bodies just cannot process
the amount of sugar we consume on a daily basis.
5. Salt/Sodium
Too much salt is linked to stomach cancer, heart attacks, osteoporosis,
and many more ailments.
According to a Health Day article from June 2006, over 75% of our salt is
ingested unknowingly, from high-sodium processed foods, rather than being
added by shaking it from a dispenser at the table. Make sure that the salt
you do use is natural sea salt, and not conventional table salt. Sea Salt
can actually be beneficial to those with adrenal fatigue and other
ailments.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman recommends getting all of your sodium from natural
sources (i.e. fruits and vegetables and nuts and seeds). His guideline:
aim for 1 milligram (mg) of sodium for every calorie. Products with 200 mg
of sodium per 100 calories should be mostly avoided. Anything higher than
that is just asking for trouble.
I recommend staying away from processed foods as much as possible. However
if you must buy processed foods here is a list of things to look for.
When you're buying processed foods, look for:
Whole grains
Low sugar
Low sodium
No artificial ingredients
Fruits and vegetables pack into the foods and of course
organic wins the race!!
WHAT IS A HEALTHY DIET!
Prevention is better than a cure and a healthy diet can not only reduce your
chances of developing heart disease, but also protects your heart from
further problems if you’ve already been diagnosed. It’s never too late to
start eating healthy, and a good diet can also protect against some
cancers and diabetes.
Make sure you are eating 6-8 cups of fruits and veggies per day. Fruits
and vegetables not only alkalize your body, but they are essential for
good health.
Most people do not eat enough fruits and veggies in these
modern times.
Include in your diet each day, healthy fats. These foods include flax
seeds, avocado, nuts and seeds, etc. Healthy fat has been proven to prevent
and treat heart disease.
Our bodies cannot function without healthy fats to nourish our organs,
brain and all
neurological transmissions in the body etc. Make sure you are getting your
daily serving of fat per day.
Make sure you include whole grains (these are grains in their natural form,
not breads and processed grains), and extra fiber in your diet daily. Make
sure that you cut out all white flour products as well. These products are
one of the worst for spiking your blood sugar levels quickly.
To help give you some ideas for some heart healthy food combining, I have
included a few recipes.
Garden Salad
2 handfuls lettuce of choice
1 green onion chopped
1 carrot grated
½ medium beet grated
1 medium tomato chopped
½ cup alfalfa or sunflower sprouts
½ cup celery chopped
2 hard boiled eggs sliced or nuts/ seeds of choice (sprouted or not)
Sweet and Spicy Salad Dressing
½ cup oil (flax, olive, hemp, etc.)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup honey or maple syrup
¼ cup prepared mustard of choice
Mix all ingredients together and put into a bottle.
Stuffed Winter Squash
1 winter squash of choice
2 cups of cooked quinoa
1 red pepper chopped
¼ pesto (more if you really like pesto, like me)
Dash of sea salt
Cut squash in half and bake at 375 F for 35mins or until soft and easy to
mix. While squash is baking, cook quinoa. Quinoa take 20 mins to cook,
after cooked add chopped read pepper, pesto and sea salt. When squash is
cooked, mix it leaving it in the shell and pile quinoa mixture on top.
Then bake in the oven for another 20 mins.
Pesto
Raw Pesto (4-6 servings)
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves (stems removed)
1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
½ cup Nutritional yeast
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until
smooth.
*Make sure that if you do have any of the above heart symptoms that you
seek medical advice right away.
Your Dr. of Medical Intuition,
Dr. Keri Dennis, NC
Intuitive Health Solutions
