Let’s talk about your heart!

Welcome back to the My Healthy Living blog, friends. One of the most common conditions I see is cardiovascular disease in my Internal Medicine clinic. Unfortunately, it also happens to be the leading cause of death in the United States and has almost certainly affected you or a family member directly. For the naysayers who believe it won’t happen to you; over 48% of Americans greater than 20 years have cardiovascular disease, defined by the presence of hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, or congestive heart failure. This is likely an under-representation too because there is currently no clinical practice guideline that recommends a screening for coronary artery disease in an asymptomatic patient. Go to the doctor and ask about heart health!

Only 28% of Americans eat the CDC recommended 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day (1 serving = banana or bell pepper for size reference). This means that there is lots of room for improvement! Interestingly, the risk of heart disease decreases by nearly 25% in people who eat these fruit and vegetable serving recommendations. This risk reduction is independent of other lifestyle changes like physical activity, smoking cessation, and weight control.

However, don’t assume that all plant based diets are going to prevent you from having that widow maker heart attack. Eating an unhealthy plant based diet -primarily refined carbohydrates (white bread/pasta) – is linked to a 32% increase in cardiovascular disease compared to a health plant based diet. The goal should be to eat 5 servings of fruit, 5 servings of vegetables, 1-2 ounces of nuts, and 2-3 servings of legumes (1 serving = 1/2 cup cooked) per day. Plants contain phytochemicals which help with antio-xidation (think cancer prevention and anti-aging effects) as well as anti-inflammation. These phytochemicals are not found in animal products.

One way I have personally helped hundreds of patients improve their diet is through making slow, intentional changes in their lives. Evaluate how many servings of fruit you eat per day. If you only eat 1 apple per day, you won’t keep the doctor away; I know… I know… I’m a dad. If this is the case, I would encourage you to start with 1 apple and 1 banana starting next week. One way I have personally achieved this is by eating a piece of fruit on my way to work and bringing 3-4 more pieces of fruit (think easy to eat fruit like apples, bananas, oranges) with me to work. When I see the extra fruit on my desk, I’m encouraged to eat them throughout my busy day. This is easy and achievable for anybody. For the skeptics that say it’s too expensive to eat this much fruit, I ask that you compare the cost of a large bag of apples or oranges that will last you at least 3-5 days on this plant-based diet to your daily Starbucks or breakfast burrito you picked up on the way to work.

Let’s make this lifestyle change together and prevent cardiovascular disease! Leave your plant based recipes below and let me know your preferred way to prepare chickpeas.

Here’s my dinner from last night. It included a significant amount of protein, insoluble fiber, complex carbohydrates, whole grains, and vegetables. I ate my 5 servings of fruit while at work.

Ingredients:

1. One can chickpeas
2. Yellow onion, diced
3. Bag of frozen broccoli
4. Bag of brown rice
5. Teriyaki sauce

Recipe: saute the onions with some garlic until fragrant. Add the drained chickpeas and continue browning for 3-5 more minutes. While the chickpeas are warming, steam the broccoli and prepare the rice. I prefer the boil-in-a-bag rice for simplicity. Finally, combine all of the cooked ingredients into a large pan and add the desired amount of Teriyaki sauce. Enjoy!