Nutrition
Dr. Lee A. Surkin has long been interested in the relationship between health and nutrition. He began his path to cardiology with a
Master of Science in Human Nutrition from the esteemed Columbia University in New York City. This background has influenced his treatment of his patients and led to a focus on the relationship between nutritional supplements and heart health. However, Dr. Surkin feels that there is no substitute for eating a healthy and balanced diet.
As most of us would assume, the typical American diet is fraught with excess calories, highly processed foods and regular consumption of fast foods. Such a diet is unhealthy for everyone. For those individuals with heart disease and for those with an interest in preventative measures, heart healthy nutrition is vital to their well-being. Dr. Surkin has positioned himself to address these needs.
What is a healthy diet?
A healthy diet has an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fat-free - or at least low-fat - milk products. A healthy diet includes lean meats, fish, beans, eggs and nuts. It is important to minimize saturated fats, transfats, cholesterol, sodium (salt) and added sugars.
In general less processed foods will have more of the nutrients that your body needs. When possible eat fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Whole grains are preferable because they provide more nutrients in addition to fiber. The milk group can be added in many ways. In addition to drinking fat-free milk use skim milk instead of water for hot cereals, eat yogurt or substitute plain yogurt for sour cream.
Variety is important in the effort to provide your body with adequate amounts of essential vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber that are all so important to health. In spite of healthy eating, it can be difficult to be certain that you are actually consuming sufficient amounts of basic nutrients. Fresh food may have been traveling for days and various forms of food processing can reduce nutritional values. Taking a good quality multivitamin is one way to be sure the basics are covered, but not a substitute for healthy eating.
Healthy Heart
Clinical studies have examined the impact of nutrients on blood pressure. A healthy diet can help reduce the likelyhood of developing hypertension as well as to maintain better control of blood pressure in hypertension patients. What the research indicates is eating a healthy diet like that already described. However, to impact high blood pressure is important to lower the amount of fats, red meats, sweets, sweetened beverages and especially sodium.
