TIDBITS FROM THE COOKING CARDIOLOGIST

Following are some tidbits I got from the cooking cardiologist, Dr. Richard Collins, over the years.

• When steaming vegetables, use distilled water. "You will be surprised how avoiding chlorine improves the taste of vegetables.
• Use earthen bakeware with lids and just a trace of oil for roasting vegetables.
• Sauté onions and/or mushrooms in small amounts of frozen apple juice to caramelize.
• "Take fat-free cheese and put it in a saucer. Pour fat-free skim milk over the cheese. Let it sit for 30 seconds so it will hydrate. Then you put the cheese on any dish you want, and it will melt all over the place when you to cook it."

earthenware 

EYE HYGIENE

You may think eye hygiene is a strange title because the eyes are basically self-cleaning. However, below are a few things to consider regarding care of your eyes.

• Change your contacts daily. Yes, this also includes the extended use ones. No one should sleep in their contacts for extended periods such as overnight. Doing so could cause an infection.
• Rinse your contacts in contact solution, not water. 
• It is suggested you wear glasses on flights rather than contacts. This is especially true of long flights. The high pressure and recycled air are dehydrating. Drink water on long flights.
• Never sleep with your makeup on. Failing to remove your makeup before bedtime could cause eye inflammation or a sty.
• Don't share eye makeup.

Take good care of your eyes. You want them to last you for your lifetime!

MORE ON EYES AND AGING

 Have you ever considered your eye health, just like other body parts, need a well-rounded diet and yes, even exercise to maintain their healthy status? Notice the above sentence states a 'well-rounded' diet. According to Dr. Craig W. See, an ophthalmologist, no single food - and that includes carrots - are the perfect food for the eyes. The doctor does suggest eating, what he calls superfoods, daily. This list includes:

• Eggs, they reinforce retina health as well as containing lutein and zeaxanthin which help protect against cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in people over age 60.
• Vitamin C foods help prevent cataracts. You already know most Vitamin C foods but consider strawberries and citrus fruits daily. Red bell peppers are one of the foods highest in vitamin-C.
• Vitamin E foods that also help fight macular degeneration. Spinach and almonds are good choices.
• Carrots are high in Vitamin A, a vitamin that supports eye health.

Our next post will give other suggestions to help maintain eye health.

 

EYES AND AGING

Most of us will need glasses at some point in our lives. Even those of us who have always had good eyesight, usually end up with glasses or contacts. I will never forget the first time I needed glasses. I live in the Dallas/Ft Worth area but was working in New York City. I noticed I was standing on one side of the hallway reading the bulletin board on the other side of the hallway. It came to my attention when everyone going down the hall was saying, "Excuse me" to me. I made an appointment with an optometrist in Texas for my next trip home. Imagine my surprise when he told me I needed bifocals. I had always thought of bifocals as glasses for old people who had worn glasses for years. Seeing my surprise, he said, "It's just your age. These things start happening at your age." I was forty!

According to Brandon Butler, an optometrist in NYC, genetics play a part in eyes just like other parts of our bodies. He says the more near - or far -sighted your parents are, the higher your chances of needing glasses but other factors come into play with age. As an example, he says Presbyopia occurs when the eyes' lenses lose the ability to change shape and focus up close. This condition affects around 90% of persons over 45. We all know cataracts occur as we age. Cataract symptoms usually start to appear in our sixties. The good news is that these conditions are easily treated. Tomorrow we will talk about ways we can keep our eyes healthy for many years.

CHOCOLATE FOR BLOOD PRESSURE?

According to Prevention magazine (Oct. '11)*, one of my favorite foods is good for lowering blood pressure.  Since that is a concern of mine, I was especially delighted with this news!  Are you ready for this?  Drumroll please...Dark chocolate (flavanols) make blood vessels more elastic thus lowering blood pressure. Yeah!  I love chocolate!  The bad news?  Okay, here it is....You can eat 1/2 ounce of at least 70% cocoa daily.  This leaves out milk chocolate, sugar-laden candy bars, etc.  But isn't it nice to know we can have a bit of chocolate daily and improve our blood pressure?

*This is an old publication, however, in 2025 dark chocolate is still said to be helpful in fighting high blood pressure.

 1 square is usually 1 ounce

LEAFY GREENS AND TYPE 2 DIABETES

Based on 18 years of research of more than 71,000 women conducted by Tulane University and Harvard School of Public Health, for every serving of green leafy vegetables you add to your diet, you may slash your likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes by 9%.  Green leafy vegetables include spinach, chard, kale, etc.

Disclaimer: I have to say greens are some of my favorite foods and I did develop Type 2 diabetes at age 60. However, diabetes runs heavy in my family, I had it on both my maternal and paternal sides so maybe eating greens is why I didn't get it until age 60. I have been a diabetic for 15 years but have never had to take insulin, so I am not complaining.

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FRUIT-ON-THE-BOTTOM YOGURTS

If you are a yogurt eater, and there are many benefits in yogurt, beware of the fruit-on-the-bottom varieties.  Many people just grab their favorite yogurt and think they are doing themselves a big favor by 'eating yogurt.'  However, there are some unhealthy traps in yogurt, and this is one of them.  Are you aware that many of these fruit-on-the-bottom varieties contain more sugar in a single serving than does a candy bar?  Yes, that's right!  If you want fruit in your yogurt, add a few slices of healthy banana or stir in some blueberries to a regular low-fat yogurt.  (There is a lengthy article on this blog comparing the benefits of regular yogurt to Greek yogurt and which is best the best one for you.)

 For reference only. Not a brand endorsement.

WEIGHT RELATED DEATHS

Being overweight does matter. I'm not talking fifteen or twenty pounds but being seriously overweight. Check out these numbers below.

We Americans should pay more attention to our diets, eat healthier, exercise, and take care of our health. The latest numbers show that over 280,000 to 350,000 Americans die annually of weight related diseases.  A public health study found that 1 in 5 deaths in America were weight related. That is so sad because in most cases, yes, there are exceptions to everything, we can have control over our weight.  Is it time to take your health and your weight into your own hands? You can start by making small changes and work your way up to the bigger ones.  But do something.  There are many suggestions on this blog of how to improve one's diet; check them out.  The life you save just might be your own!

Note: This is a repost from 2022.

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DO YOU DRINK ALCOHOL?

Do you drink alcohol? If you do, you need to read the rest of this post. There are many reasons to stop drinking alcohol or to cut back on the amount. Here are a few reasons you may not have considered or even known. Alcohol can cause inflammation in the body and inflammation is responsible for a lot of health problems. Alcohol is known to increase inflammation in the intestines, disrupting gut bacteria. Alcohol can change brain structure and function. It can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Experts recommend no more than one alcoholic beverage per day for both men and women.

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FOOD IS THE BODY'S FUEL