Genda Freeman leads a group of eight people through Schnuck’s supermarket, pointing out an obvious fact of life: if you want to be healthy, you have to focus on fruits and vegetables, not candy and chips.
Freeman, a clinical dietitian at St. John’s Hospital, explains how to read nutritional labels on cereal boxes and blocks of cheese, why sliced meat at the deli is more nutritional than packaged products, and why shoppers should focus on picking produce.
“You want to spend most of your time in the fruit and vegetable section,” she says. “Fast food can mean fruits and veggies. Raw veggies can be fast food, if served with a fat-free dip.”
In recognition of February as American Heart Month, the supermarket tour is just one activity sponsored by St. John’s Prairie Heart Institute, which has teamed up with the American Heart Association to educate the public and promote a heart-healthy diet.
The recommended daily diet calls for three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit, so Freeman emphasizes the importance of shopping in the outer aisles, where the fresh, green, leafy items are found. She also suggests trying new varieties of fruit, like quince, kiwi, and papaya, but warns against excessive use of coconuts, olives, and avocados, which are high in fat.
“Typically, the American dinner plate has a lot of meat on it, with grains and vegetables as side dishes,” she says. “We’re trying to reverse that.”
Freeman says most people grew up on this kind of diet, particularly in the Midwest, due to the abundance of farming, coupled with the affluent period following the Depression, when meat was more available. “It’s part of our culture that’s hard to change,” she says.
Members of the tour group are typical of many people trying to become better educated about eating a healthier diet. One middle-aged woman, who whispers that she’s here because she wants to lose weight, keeps tabs on her obviously reluctant husband, who stays several yards behind. A diabetic senior citizen has brought along her elderly mother, who’s dismayed to learn that their favorite cereal is actually loaded with sugar and sodium.
The perfect diet, says Freeman, should consist of red meat only two or three times a week. People should also eat more fish. Just because a product says “fat-free” or low-fat, she warns, doesn’t mean it’s low in calories. Oftentimes lower in fat means higher in sodium, especially in such products as cheese. Sodium can cause high blood pressure and increase the risk for congestive heart failure.
Heart disease is still the number one killer of men and women in the United States. There are some uncontrollable factors that contribute to heart disease, including age and family history. But other factors can be controlled, such as diet, smoking, and exercise. While people may know this, teaching them how to change their diets is often an uphill battle. “I was explaining to a former heart patient how to cut out meat from her diet and how to prepare meat without frying it,” Freeman says. “Her eyes got really big. She had never even considered that before.”
As the group makes its way through the supermarket, Freeman offers these additional tips: use cooking oil sparingly, and choose oils high in monounsaturated fats, such as olive and canola oil; “light” oil refers to the color or flavor, not the fat content; check food lables for the amount of sodium, fat, saturated fat, fiber, cholesterol, protein, and sugar, not just calories; don’t mistake low-fat or fat-free for low-calorie food; and pay attention to portion sizes, with one serving being equal to a half cup of cooked vegetables, one medium apple, or a 4- to 6-ounce raw portion of meat.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women over 40 and more women die of cardiovascular diseases than men. A 2000 study conducted by the American Heart Association showed that fewer than one in ten women perceive heart disease as their greatest health threat, but more women die from cardiovascular diseases than from all forms of cancer. One in two women will eventually die of heart disease or stroke.
“More people are trying to eat healthier than ever before,” Freeman says. “If they are committed, they can do it. It takes discipline.”
More American Heart Month Activities :Â
•An informational supermarket tour will be held February 26. It’s free, but
registration is required. For more information, call 217-544-6464, ext 44574,
or 1-888-4-HEART-MD.
•A free public seminar, “Women’s Heart Health,” will be held at 7 p.m. February
25 at the Prairie Heart Institute Conference Center at St. John’s Hospital.
•Free cooking demonstration sponsored by Robert’s Seafood will be held at 7 p.m. February 27 at the PHI Conference Center.
•The 2003 Prairie Heart Diet: A Guide for Healthier Living is available by calling the above number. Web site: www.prairieheart.com.
Â
Roasted pork tenderloin
3 lb. pork loin with bone
3 cloves garlic, slivered
4 scallions, sliced
2 teaspoons cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut holes into pork and place garlic and scallions
inside. Sprinkle lime juice over roast and rub meat with cilantro. Place meat
on rack, fat side up, and insert meat thermometer in the thickest part of the
roast. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until temperature is 170 degrees F.
Per 3 oz serving: 101 calories, 17 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrate, 3 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 39 milligrams cholesterol, 0 grams fiber, 40 milligrams sodium.
Â
Mashed sweet potatoesÂ
4 sweet potatoes
1 baking potato
3 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Prick potatoes and microwave on high for 15 minutes. Spoon potatoes out of skin and place in bowl. Mash potatoes with sugar and spices.
Per serving: 78 calories, 1 gram protein, 19 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fat,
0 grams saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram fiber, 12 milligrams
sodium. (You may add nonfat milk for smoother texture.)
Recipes from A Guide for Healthier Living, Prairie Heart Institute.
This article appears in May 8-14, 2003.
