This morning I checked my email and an article caught my eye — one that had been forwarded by a member of my mailing list who lives in Peoria, Illinois. I had to laugh, even though I have never been anywhere near Peoria. The cause of my amusement was my memory of something one of my instructors from medical school used to say to one of my classmates way back when. “Bob, what will they think of this in Peoria?” Or, the alternate: “Bob, if you don’t watch out and start picking up speed, it’s quite possible you could end up with a practice in Peoria.
My instructor was a bit biased as to what cities were worth practicing in. In his mind, New York City and Boston were the only options, so Peoria certainly would have been out of the question.
I think by now Bob has probably figured out that there are indeed qualified medical practitioners in Peoria, as well as equally qualified specialists.
For the first time ever, this year, the cardiologists from St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria held a Cardiology Cookout, which they are planning to hold each year from now on.
The St. Francis cardiology staff, besides staging a fun event, were trying to remind attendees that cooking can be pleasurable, and that cooking tasty food does not automatically mean that food is not good for you.
More than one hundred people attended the event, and all were given samples of food that are healthy for the heart, as well as recipes that they can use to create the heart-healthy foods at home.
To me, that idea is commendable.
The cardiology staff from St. Francis offered some great advice, and there is one bit of advice that I think is well worth noting.
One question I always get asked is about the optimal amount of calories that a person should eat daily.
Here is an easy answer to that question: weigh yourself and multiply that number by 15.
For example, if you weigh 170 pounds you would multiply 170 by 15, which totals 2550 calories. You would need to eat that many calories daily if you wanted to keep your weight at 170.
For someone who wants to drop weight, they need to multiply their weight by 13 instead of 15. Using the 170 pound example, this totals 2210 calories. That equals a daily decrease of 340 calories. Two easy suggestions for dropping the daily calorie count: One, if you drink two sugar-filled sodas a day, make the change to plain tea, or water. This shaves off 220 calories right there. Two, try switching to mustard, instead of mayonnaise on your sandwich, and you will have pretty much taken care of the 340 calories that you are trying to take out of your daily diet. Follow those easy guidelines, and in one week you will have decreased your caloric intake by 2380, which pretty much equals a whole day of calorie consumption.
This doesn’t even take exercise into account.
Weight loss does occur without exercise, but doing both will speed up your success.
The cardiologists also recommended getting omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil supplements, taken from fish that are low on the food chain, such as anchovies, and sardines (less potential for environmental contaminants that way).
Now is something I know more than a little bit about, since I have an enteric-coated, pharmaceutical-grade essential fatty acid softgel of my own. The sofgels have the highest concentration of EPA/DHA that you can buy. The fish oil in the supplements comes from fish that live deep in the arctic waters of Norway, and are free of mercury, cholesterol, and PCBs. My softgels are exceptionally pure, meeting the high standards set both nationally and internationally.
Dr Kent Wise, a cardiologist at St. Francis says, “We don’t believe other supplements, such as Vitamins C, or E, or folic acid, do much to improve heart health.”
Dr. Wise continues, “We do know that fish oil lowers one of the fats in the blood called triglycerides. Additionally, we have found some evidence that consuming fish oil can decrease the chance of sudden death.
Here are more suggestions:
Try packing a healthy lunch for yourself rather than relying on fast food.
Decrease the amount of salt you are eating. Try to steer clear from salty snacks like chips and pretzels, and check the salt content of packaged food.
Eat plenty of fiber, including beans, barley, fruit and vegetables.
Whenever you can, visit your farmers’ market for fresh produce.
These are all excellent recommendations, whether they come from Boston, New York, or Peoria.
