Valerie Costanza, RD

Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month make February a month to celebrate sweethearts. What a perfect time to show your loved one how much you care by preparing a meal with heart-healthy superfoods such as omega-3 fatty acids and fresh vegetables. Adding superfoods to your daily diet has the ability to decrease the risk of cancer, improve heart function, and fight infection. Make heart healthy dishes for you and your sweetheart and you will be doing your part for a healthier heart!

Examples of superfoods:

Beans • Blueberries • Broccoli • Oats • Oranges • Pumpkin • Salmon • Soy • Spinach • Tea (green or black) • Tomatoes • Turkey • Walnuts • Yogurt

Baked Grouper with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Ingredients :

• 3 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomato (about 4 medium)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 (6-ounce) grouper fillets

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 10 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Place fish, skin sides up, in pan; cook 2 minutes. Turn fish over; top with tomato mixture. Bring to a boil. Place pan in oven; bake at 425° for 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

This Nutrition Update is brought to you by Seasons. For a personalized nutrition consultation with Valerie Costanza, call Seasons at 255-3223 and schedule an appointment.

Dr. Nathan Goodyear

“If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.” — James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States.

Image by Gabriela Camerotti via Flickr

I read that quote by President Garfield the other day and it occurred to me how important his statement was in my practice of medicine. What causes wrinkles? What causes the spirit to grow old? What can damage the heart? The answer is stress. Stress is not something that just exists. Stress is not just a term used to describe forces applied as in engineering. Stress is real and it affects our hearts. Stress kills.

What impact does stress have on the health of our heart?

• 43% of all adults suffer stress related adverse health effects.
• 75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians are stress-related.
• Stress is directly linked to heart disease according to a new study from University College London.

The interesting thing about stress? It’s not just external. Stress is both external and internal. There is stress of day-to-day life. And then there is the silent physiologic stress. The internal stress occurs in the form of obesity, food sensitivity, and inflammation to name a few.

How is stress affecting you? Ask your heart. Focus on keeping your heart healthy by limiting and relieving your stress this Valentine’s Day. While we can’t always eliminate the causes of stress in our life, we can control how we allow it to affect us!

My recommendations?

• Make good food choices to give your body the right kind of energy that lasts and helps you work and feel better.
• Get regular exercise. It boosts your metabolism, fights fatigue, and even elevates your mood helping you to cope with stress more effectively.
• Take time to meditate and pray.
• Take a break and relax whether it’s a soak in the tub or a good book.

Take care of your heart. That’s the best gift you can give those you love!

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• Marcia G. Yerman: A New Recipe for Heart Health (huffingtonpost.com)
• Bill Clinton says lack of sleep added to heart problem (ctv.ca)
• Easy Tips for Reducing Stress (dirjournal.com)
• Stress `can cause heart damage’ (telegraph.co.uk)

Dr. Nathan Goodyear

President Eisenhower said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened”

In my last post, we looked at some new discoveries in science about the truth of bioidentical hormone therapy. Specifically, we looked at the different ways bioidentical progesterone and synthetic progestins affect the breasts. This week I want to look at the different ways they affect the cardiovascular system.

I can hear what you’re probably thinking. “You mean some hormones might have beneficial effects on the heart? That is not what my doctor told me.”

I don’t know your doctor or your specific situation, but I do know about the latest scientific research.

Synthetic hormones increase cardiovascular risks.

One study, the Women’s Health Initiative saw a large increase in the risk of heart attacks and stroke in women who used Provera. This is not at all surprising since synthetic progestins have previously been shown (in the PEPI study) to negate the positive cardiovascular benefits of estrogen.

These results stand in stark contrast to studies using bioidentical progesterone, which has been shown to provide additional cardiovascular benefits.

Here’s some more down and dirty science. First, you need to understand that blood vessel constriction and plaque formation both increase your risk of stroke and heart attack. Bioidentical progesterone reduced blood vessel constriction and plaque formation by 50%, but synthetic progestins actually increased blood vessel constriction and plaque formation.

Wow. I wish President Eisenhower’s words weren’t so appropriate. The truth is easy when everyone believes it; but the truth is hard to follow when so many people seem blind to it.

Here’s the truth: Bioidentical progesterone provides cardiovascular benefits to women.