Polymeal Recipes

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There are plenty of other foods that are good for your heart that aren’t key parts of the polymeal diet. Let’s take a look!

Olive Oil

With it’s high content of monounstaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, olive oil has been shown to protect against heart disease. It helps to control “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and increases “good” HDL cholesterol.

Soya Beans & Soya Oil

The health benefits of soya beans and soya oil are mainly due to the isoflavones they contain. Research has suggested that consumption of soya may help to reduce cholesterol and prevent plaque from building up in arteries.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain a cartenoid called lycopene that is a potent antioxidant that has been shown to reduce heart disease. Combining tomatoes with olive oil helps the lycopene be absorbed by the body, and cooking tomatoes doesn’t destroy the lycopene, so tomato sauce or canned tomatoes are just as good as fresh.

Oat Bran

Oat bran contains a fiber called beta-glucan that has been shown over and over to reduce cholesterol levels. Just a bowl of oatmeal (the real stuff, not the packaged sugary stuff) can lower one’s total cholesterol by up to 23%.

Tea

Tea, whether it be white, green, black or red, contain powerful antioxidants called polyphenols that can help prevent heart disease.

Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans

Chickpeas are rich in dietary fibre that helps lower cholesterol. As if that weren’t enough, they also contain significant amounts of folate, which helps to lower homosysteine levels, and magnesium, which is a natural calcium channel blocker. Plus, they taste great, so make some hummus today!

Can following the Polymeal Diet help you lose weight?

Yes.

Well, yes but…

The main key to losing weight is consistently taking in less than you expend each day, and that means controlling your portion sizes.

This can be done with any diet, really, but there are some advantages to the Polymeal Diet that can tip the scales in your favor.

First, the diet promotes the consumption of lots of fruits and vegetables. Just cutting back on starches and junk food and replacing them with fresh veggies and the occassional fruit will help you feel full while eating fewer calories.

The addition of dark chocolate to the diet can help with satisfying a sweet tooth. Just make sure to watch your fat intake for the rest of the day.

Fish is a fantastic source of lean protein and healthy fats when it’s not fried in oil. Bake, barbeque or steam your fish. If you find it too bland, and some herbs, spices or lemon juice to perk it up.

You can lose weight on the Polymeal Diet, but you still need to watch your portion sizes and get some exercise. It’s good for your heart and your waistline!

If you’re allergic to fish, vegetarian or vegan, and you want all the health benefits of the Polymeal diet then you need to find another source of the omega-3 fatty acids that make fish so heart-healthy.

There are two types of omega-3 fatty acids that are found in fish oil. The first, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), is readily synthesized by your body by converting alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

ALA is found in flax seeds, so supplementing one’s diet with flax seed oil, or crushed flax seeds takes care of the EPA production. It’s worth mentioning that heating flax seeds destroys the omega-3s, so if you’re using the oil or the seeds in a hot food, it’s best to add them after. And you must crush the flax seeds. Your body can’t digest their hulls, and you’ll lose out of all the goodness inside if you don’t break them open first. Coffee grinders are fabulous for this task.

The second omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is more difficult. The body doesn’t synthesize DHA as easily, so supplementation is advised.

Fish is the primary and most readily available source of DHA. However, there are a couple of vegan-friendly brands of DHA supplements available:

• NuTru’s Omega-Zen-3
• Deva’s Vegan Omega-3 DHA oil

There’s a great article over at Convenience Store News about the health benefits of almonds, and how they can keep your heart healthy, your body fat low, and your blood sugar stable.

Link: What a Nut: Studies Crack Almonds’ Health Benefits

Not all dark chocolate is the same.

Many companies use processes that destroy or remove the heart-healthy flavonoids from dark chocolate. Dutch or alkali processed cocoa has most of the flavonoids stripped away, so try to avoid chocolate made with it.

Conversely, the Mars Corporation has developed a process called Cocoapro that retains a high level of the flavonoids in the cocoa. In fact, Dove makes a dark chocolate bar that is so high in flavonoids that it is used in research studies.

Generally, the darker the chocolate is, the better. Information on flavonoid levels in different brands of dark chocolate is hard to find. Dove is the only one that I’ve seen concrete information about, but other high-quality brands likely have decent levels of flavonoids as well.

So, to sum up, avoid Dutch or alkali processed cocoa, go as dark as possible, and look for the Cocoapro label on Mars products.

Regular consumption of garlic not only helps you to keep your heart healthy, it can help men with erectile dysfunction.

Garlic helps to widen the arteries and increase blood flow to the groin, which aids in erections. Many men with heart disease also have impotency problems due to poor circulation.

The creation of nitric oxide, a chemical that is involved in causing erections, is also enhanced by garlic compounds.

Scientists recommend taking garlic supplements to get a high enough dose of garlic to be effective, but eating it helps too.

So next time you’re making a romantic meal for you and your sweetie, add some garlic!

Reference: Garlic a ‘power boost’ love drug - News.com.au

Lifehacker has a great post today with a new trick for cutting onions.

I’d never heard this one before, and I’m looking forward to trying it out!

If you’re looking for a technical overview of the chemistry of hearth healthy compounds in garlic, look no further.

Garlic Festival Foods has a great interview with Dr. Eric Block, an expert in garlic chemistry.

You can read the interview here: http://www.garlicfestival.com/Rx/garlicchemistry.html

There are a few tricks to getting the smell of garlic off your hands.

• Run your hands over some stainless steel. Nearly everyone has stainless steel faucets in their kitchens.
• Mix a little salt and dish detergent in your palm, then rub them together. The salt absorbs the odor!
• Stir two level tablespoons of baking soda into a glass of water, then soak your hands for 30 seconds to a minute.
• Rub a cut lime or lemon on your hands. Check to make sure you don’t have any scratches first!

It seems that a dram of whiskey a day could help prevent cancer.

Dr. Jim Swan claims that single malt whisky contains an antioxidant, ellagic acid, that kills cancer cells.

There was no mention of any benefits to cardiovascular health.

Dr. Swan will present the findings of his study tomorrow at a medical conference in Glasgow.

Reference: Daily Record - Whisky Can Halt Cancer