Genmedmom here.
Yes, this lovely photo of walnuts, dark chocolate, and red wine against the backdrop of Christmas was my real dinner.
This was several weeks ago. Hubby was traveling. I’d worked a long clinic day, and had just picked the kids up from my mother’s. My school-age kids ended up with yogurt, fruit, and cereal, while I ended up with this dinner of champions.
But it’s not a bad dinner, from a nutrition standpoint. Actually, I was rather proud of what I’d put together, for cardiovascular reasons.
After all, I’ve done my research: I’ve just published a book on this! Healthy Habits for Your Heart is a behavior change focused evidence-based diet and lifestyle book for heart health. I was a bit insane about including the supporting science, so the references section is way larger than the publishers wanted. The first section of the book is all about how our behaviors impact our heart health, and how to approach habit change. Then, for each suggested diet and lifestyle habit, I’ve included tips to make it stick.
Want a free preview? Here you go! Pasted directly from the book, to you! I hope folks find it helpful for them and for their patients.
From Chapter 5, Eat For Your Life: Nutrition Habits, here is the lowdown on nuts, chocolate, and wine: #34: Eat Four Servings of Nuts Per Week Nuts are good for your heart and your life. Research shows that eating four servings of nuts per week was associated with a significantly lower risk of having coronary heart disease (19 percent) or any type of cardiovascular disease (28 percent). ere was also a significantly lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease (22 percent), cardiovascular disease (22 percent), sudden cardiac death (75 percent), or anything at all (19 percent). e studies looked at tree nuts (which include almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and hazelnuts) as well as peanuts (which are technically a legume but nutritionally similar to tree nuts).
Another study found that for every one serving per week increase in nuts, there was a 10 percent lower risk of having coronary heart disease. is may be due to the fact that nuts are a rich source of healthy oils. Nuts also are great sources of both soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals. Nuts are an important part of the classic Mediterranean diet, which we know is a very good diet for heart health. (Allergies are a consideration here. For people who are allergic to nuts, this habit doesn’t apply. As a doctor, I’m going to remind you to update your epinephrine auto-injector and carry it with you at all times!)Share this Post