Words of Wisdom From Peoria

This morning I checked my email and an article caught my eye — one that had been forwarded by a member of my mailing list who lives in Peoria, Illinois. I had to laugh, even though I have never been anywhere near Peoria. The cause of my amusement was my memory of something one of my instructors from medical school used to say to one of my classmates way back when. “Bob, what will they think of this in Peoria?” Or, the alternate: “Bob, if you don’t watch out and start picking up speed, it’s quite possible you could end up with a practice in Peoria.

My instructor was a bit biased as to what cities were worth practicing in. In his mind, New York City and Boston were the only options, so Peoria certainly would have been out of the question.

I have a feeling that Bob knows that Peoria does actually have fully functional medical practices, and specialists as well.

For the first time ever, this year, the cardiologists from St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria held a Cardiology Cookout, which they are planning to hold each year from now on.

The cardiology staff members wanted to make a few points during this event: that cooking can be enjoyable and that food that tastes good does not have to be food that is unhealthy.

The event was a success, with over one hundred people attending. Each attendee was offered samples of heart-healthy foods to taste, and they given the opportunity to take home recipes that teach them how to prepare those healthy foods in their own kitchens or backyards.

To me, that idea is commendable.

The St. Francis cardiology staff had some excellent suggestions, and one in particular that I think is especially good.

People are always asking how many calories they should consume.

The way to figure that out is to multiply your weight by 15.

Say you weigh 170 pounds. You multiply that by 15, which equals 2550 calories. To maintain that weight, that’s how many calories you would consume daily.

For someone who wants to drop weight, they need to multiply their weight by 13 instead of 15. Using the 170 pound example, this totals 2210 calories. That equals a daily decrease of 340 calories. Two easy suggestions for dropping the daily calorie count: One, if you drink two sugar-filled sodas a day, make the change to plain tea, or water. This shaves off 220 calories right there. Two, try switching to mustard, instead of mayonnaise on your sandwich, and you will have pretty much taken care of the 340 calories that you are trying to take out of your daily diet. Follow those easy guidelines, and in one week you will have decreased your caloric intake by 2380, which pretty much equals a whole day of calorie consumption.

This doesn’t even take exercise into account.

Weight loss does occur without exercise, but doing both will speed up your success.

The St. Francis cardiology staff also advises taking fish oil supplements that contain omega 3 fatty acids. The best supplements are those that are made from fish that are low on the food chain, like sardines and anchovies. This way, there is less of a chance of contamination from environmental elements.

Now is something I know more than a little bit about, since I have an enteric-coated, pharmaceutical-grade essential fatty acid softgel of my own. The sofgels have the highest concentration of EPA/DHA that you can buy. The fish oil in the supplements comes from fish that live deep in the arctic waters of Norway, and are free of mercury, cholesterol, and PCBs. My softgels are exceptionally pure, meeting the high standards set both nationally and internationally.

A cardiologist from St. Francis, Kent Wise M.D. says, “We are not convinced that other supplements like vitamins E or C or folic acid actually have a positive impact on heart health.”

He goes on to say, “We are convinced that fish oil has an impact on lowering triglycerides, one of the detrimental fats found in the blood. Furthermore, some evidence has shown that fish oil can lower the risk of sudden death.

Additional advice:

Stay away from fast food (pack your own healthy lunch, instead).

Cut down on your salt consumption. This means avoiding foods like pretzels and chips and other packaged salty foods.

Eat plenty of fiber, including beans, barley, fruit and vegetables.

Whenever you can, visit your farmers’ market for fresh produce.

No matter if this advice comes from New York, Boston, or Peoria — it’s all good.