Feed Your Heart

You don’t have to be a dietitian to know that certain foods can create serious roadblocks on your arterial highways. That chili-drenched hot dog you had for lunch? It doesn’t just add to your lousy LDL cholesterol; it also stimulates inflammatory proteins that make things a whole lot worse.  The following foods are both heart-healthy and have strong anti-inflammatory effects.  Fruits and Vegetables No surprise here, but do you know why? Many fruits and vegetables -- especially red grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, and onions -- contain powerful antioxidants called flavonoids and carotenoids. These vitamin-like substances decrease inflammation by handcuffing free radicals and escorting these troublemakers out of your system.  Garlic It’s still being debated, but a clove a day may help thin your blood and lower your blood pressure. If you don’t like the taste or the fact that coworkers shrink away when they pass you in the hall, take garlic in pill form (called allicin) at 400 milligrams a day (though the odor may still emerge through your sweat glands).  Olive Oil The extra-virgin kind contains lots of healthy phytonutrients as well as monounsaturated fats, which boost good HDL cholesterol. Aim for 25% of your diet to come from healthy fats such as those found in olive oil, avocados, and nuts. Doing so can make your RealAge up to 6 years younger.  Fish Omega-3 fatty acids -- abundant in fatty fish -- reduce triglycerides in your blood (high triglycerides cause plaque buildup) and help reduce the risk of arrhythmia after a heart attack. In addition, they decrease blood pressure and make platelets less sticky, which reduces clotting.  Aim for three portions of fish per week. The best choices: mahimahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia, whitefish, and wild, line-caught salmon  Alcohol If you don’t have a problem with alcohol, having one drink a day for women -- up to two for men -- seems to raise levels of healthy HDL cholesterol. It also helps you to wind down, so your blood pressure can do the same. The healthiest choice: red wine, because of its abundant antioxidants.  Foods with Magnesium Whole-grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocado, beets, and raisins help lower blood pressure and reduce arrhythmias by dilating (expanding) the arteries. Get 400 milligrams (mg) a day. How much is that? One cup of cooked lima beans contains about 100 mg, 1⁄2 cup of cooked spinach contains 80 mg, and 12 cashews contain 50 mg, as do 30 peanuts.  Dark Chocolate Eating dark (not milk) chocolate may lower blood pressure, increase good HDL cholesterol, and lower nasty LDL cholesterol. Interesting fact: The Kuna Indians, who live on islands near Panama, have little age-related hypertension. They also drink more than 5 cups of flavonoid-rich cocoa a day. Coincidence?

Shower Your Insides

Of all the reasons H2O (preferably filtered) is oh-so-good for you, the work it does for your guts is one of the best. For starters, it helps lubricate everything, so food can slide through more easily. Plus, it helps quell hunger and fights bad breath. 

Your mechanism for detecting thirst weakens with age, which makes it that much more important to remind yourself to drink regularly throughout the day -- before your body even tells you it’s time. 

You’ve probably heard that you should drink eight 8-ounce glasses every day, but there’s no magic to this number. And the right amount varies according to your activity level and size; just drink enough water so that your urine is clear.

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A very learned authority on health is Dr. Karen Barlar Purcell,  a friend and past colleague of Mary Marshall at the Cincinnati Conservatory.  She has a beautiful voice and is now a naturopath and does a lot of public appearances as a motivational speaker and classical performer. Here is the link to her website: