Eat To Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease
Dr. Joel FuhrmanHere are some foods and ideas to help excite you about heart healthy eating!
The one most important change to revolutionize health in America is for everyone to eat a huge salad every day…but with a nut-seed based dressing. Use nuts and seeds instead of animal fats and oils.
Using nuts and seeds in salad dressings in place of oil-based dressing:
Shown in medical studies to dramatically reduce risk of cardiovascular death. For example in the Physicians Health Study sudden cardiac death was reduced by 60 percent from those who ate nuts and seeds regularly. In the PreviMed Study (Europe) they found switching using nuts as one’s fat source, dropped the most dangerous type of cholesterol and reduced cardiac deaths about 50 percent. Way better than olive oil.
We’ll show viewers a couple of heart-healthy salad dressing concoctions that will make them want salad everyday…
Orange Sesame Dressing
Serves: 3
1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds
1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
2 navel oranges, peeled
2 tablespoons Blood Orange Vinegar or white wine vinegar
Squeeze of lemon
Blend until smooth
Russian Balsamic Dressing
Serves: 2
1/2 cup low sodium pasta sauce
1/3 cup raw almonds
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
¼ cup Black Fig Vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon raisins
Blend ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.
Eating Beans and Greens…the foods most closely associated with lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart attacks.
Greens (broccoli, spinach, snow peas, etc.) are associated with the most dramatic reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, compared to other vegetables; it is no coincidence that they also have the most nutrients per calorie of any food.
Beans are also unique as a carbohydrate source because of they are so slowly digestible they hardly raise insulin, compared to other carbohydrate foods. Eating beans is associated with thinness, protection against heart disease and enhanced lifespan in multiple studies.
To integrate beans and greens into a delicious meal, try stir frying broccoli, snow peas, water chestnuts and shredded red cabbage using the sauce below…and serve it over a plate of bean pasta.
Thai Peanut Wokking Sauce
Serves: 4
1 cups water
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
3 Medjool dates, pitted
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon lemon grass paste
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Blend water and dates in a high-powered blender, then add peanut butter, coconut, ginger, and spices and blend again until smooth and well-combined. Add to partially wokked vegetables, heat and stir.
Lastly, eating deserts with cocoa powder nuts and fruit, instead of sugar and dairy products. Not quite as sweet, but decadently delicious. Because of the antioxidants and fibers present, the glycemic load is lower, and the soluble fibers promote the growth of healthy bacteria in the digestive tract, slowing absorption and reducing inflammation and heart attacks. Sugar is very bad for the heart, but fruit is not.
You can even make delicious healthy ice creams for desert with frozen bananas.
Here is my basic recipe for vanilla “nice cream,”
Whip together in the Vitamix or your food processor:
Vanilla or Chocolate Nice Cream
Serves: 4
1/4 cup raw walnuts or macadamia nuts
2 ripe bananas, frozen (peel before freezing)
1/3 cup soy, hemp or almond milk
2 Medool dates
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
or 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder, for chocolate version.
Using a high-powered blender, blend walnuts to a fine powder. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately or store in freezer for later use.
