What Have You Done for your Heart Lately?

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Ad meah ve’esrim – until 120! With this bracha, we wish each other long life. It’s amazing to think that in a lifetime of 120 years, the average heart would beat 4,541,184,000 times and transport about 315,500,000 liters of blood throughout the body.

The heart is amazingly dependable – if we take care of it. Unfortunately, the typical American diet and lifestyle are not always conducive to heart health. Consider these sobering statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Every year in the U.S., about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack and 600,000 people die from heart disease. Heart disease accounts for one in four deaths in the U.S., making it the leading cause of death among men and women.

There’s a lot you can do today to help keep your heart beating strong for the months and years ahead. I’d like to highlight a few of my favorite heart-healthy foods, and focus your attention on some other positive lifestyle changes you can make to help your heart. For starters, here are six foods you may want to include in your diet if you’re not already doing so.

Dark chocolate: Theobroma cacao, meaning “food for the gods,” is the Latin name for the cacao tree. As delicious as chocolate is, it also packs considerable cardiac benefits. Studies have suggested that dark chocolate can help lower high blood pressure, slow plaque buildup in the arteries, reduce inflammation, and prevent excess blood clotting. Keep in mind that these benefits occur only with dark chocolate, not milk chocolate. The milk can hamper the absorption and action of the beneficial antioxidants and phyto-nutrients found in cocoa. Also, there’s simply much less actual cocoa in milk chocolate. Look for chocolate containing at least 65 percent cocoa. (My favorite is 73 percent!)

Almonds: What could be better than dark chocolate? Dark chocolate with almonds! Rabbi Gil Marks, in his Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, writes that the Hebrew word for almond, shaked, means “awakening one.” The almond tree, native to the Middle East, is the first to flower after the winter, and the almond fruit itself blossoms even before the leaves of the tree. Because of this, almonds have long been a symbol of life and renewal. Folklore aside, they are a powerhouse of heart nutrients, packed with protein, fiber, good-quality fats, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, and a host of other vitamins and minerals. Many studies have shown that almonds help lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, among other cardiac benefits.

Apples: At a lovely Tu B’Shevat seder I attended this year, I learned that some Torah commentators say it was wheat, and not an apple, that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. Whether that’s good or bad for apples’ reputation I don’t know, but in any event, apples have plenty to boast about from a nutritional standpoint. Among other research attesting to apples’ heart benefits, the landmark “Seven Countries” epidemiologic study, begun in the 1950s and still underway today, has linked consumption of flavonoids (a type of plant nutrient found in apples and other fruits) with lower rates of heart disease. Apples are also especially rich in a soluble fiber called pectin, which has been shown to help reduce LDL levels.

Lentils: It was a simple bowl of lentils, according to some Torah commentators, that bought our forefather Yaakov the rights of the firstborn. Humble lentils have much to brag about in the realm of nutrition. Like other legumes (beans), they are a fabulous source of fiber, which helps keep cholesterol from building up in the arteries. The Seven Countries Study cited above found a strong inverse link between legume consumption and heart disease – an 82-percent reduction in heart disease among populations consuming more legumes!

Salmon: Well, no mystical notes or medrashim to share here, but salmon is legendary in its own right as an amazing source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. These fats are considered “essential” because they cannot be made by the body and thus must be taken in through food. Omega-3s are responsible for a host of heart benefits, such as improving the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol and slowing atherosclerosis. Some epidemiologic research has suggested that eating as little as one or two omega-3-rich fish dishes per week may help ward off heart disease. In this vein, at least one clinical study has shown a strong link between low blood levels of omega-3s and the risk of heart disease.

Yogurt: If you happened to read my Where What When article on yogurt a few months back, you may recall that Dannon, the first yogurt company to come up with the brilliant idea to put fruit preserves at the bottom of the cup, was co-founded by a Sefardic doctor named Daniel Carasso and an Ashkenazi businessman named Joseph Metzger. And if that were not enough of a Jewish angle, there is an ancient legend, according to Rabbi Gil Marks, that an angel taught Avraham how to make laban, Arabic for yogurt. (Okay, it’s an actually an Arab legend, but anything from the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food is fair game for this column.) In addition to its esteemed place in traditional ethnic cuisines and folklore, yogurt deserves special mention here for its ability to improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lower blood pressure, as suggested in several epidemiologic studies around the globe.

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Here are two recipes you may enjoy, using some of the foods mentioned above:

Almond Hummus

This hummus-like spread features almonds. It’s adapted from a recipe I found at drbenkim.com.

2 c. almonds (use either whole almonds soaked for 12 hours, then rinsed; or buy ones that are already blanched)

1/3 c. tahini (sesame paste)

1/2 c. water

2 cloves garlic or 2 tsp. minced or pureed garlic or 2 frozen cubes of crushed garlic (Dorot or Eden)

Juice of 2 small lemons or 4 T. lemon juice (1/4 cup) or 2 tsp. True Lemon crystallized lemon

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro or 6-12 frozen cubes of fresh parsley or cilantro

Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Use as a dip for raw veggies or as sandwich spread with lettuce, tomato slices, and any other desired vegetables.

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

Here’s a lentil soup recipe based on what I found at vegetariantimes.com. It features the lesser-known red lentil, which tends to get mushy as it cooks, in contrast to brown and green lentils, which hold their shape when cooked. This soup is even better the second day, after the spices have had more time to mingle.

2 c. red lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 qt. (32 oz.) vegetable broth

4 c. water

2 c. onion, chopped

2 c. celery stalks finely chopped

2 c. carrots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced, or 2 tsp. crushed garlic or 2 cubes frozen garlic

1/4 c. chopped cilantro or 6 to 8 cubes frozen (Dorot or Eden)

1 T. curry powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 T. lemon juice or 1 tsp. True Lemon crystallized lemon

1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. pepper

Bring lentils, vegetable broth, and water to a simmer in a large pot. Skim away foam that rises to the top. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion, celery, and garlic; simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Add cilantro, curry powder, and cumin, and cook 20 minutes more, or until lentils are soft. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in lemon juice or powder.

Food Is Not the Whole Story

Of course, I could list many more foods that are considered cardio-protective, but keep in mind that eating nutrient-rich foods is only one component of a heart-healthy lifestyle. Another is exercise. (Check the sidebar for the American Heart Association recommendations.) And a third component, perhaps less-emphasized but equally important, is stress management.

Harvard physician Herbert Benson, MD – a pioneer in the study of mind/body medicine and author of several books on the “relaxation response” – and his colleague Aggie Casey, a nurse researcher, have studied how negative emotional states such as anger and hostility can harm the heart. In their book Mind Your Heart, they write that “negative mood states have adverse physiological effects on the heart, resulting in increased heart rate [and] blood pressure and other harmful changes.”

The Web offers many sites where you can find simple relaxation techniques, but for the original Benson technique, go to his website at www.relaxationresponse.org/steps. This is a scientifically validated approach that has worked for thousands of Americans and been shown to improve cardiovascular health in many research studies.

Whatever method you choose, please realize that stress reduction, along with exercise and a heart-healthy diet, can be a powerful tool to help keep your heart pumping strong and your blood flowing smoothly for many years to come.