Is the food sitting on your kitchen's shelves safe for your health? Maybe not, say two experts. Those convenient processed foods that fill your kitchen shelves are bad news for your heart and your waistline, according to Saint Louis University cardiologist Melda Dolan. In addition to the type of foods themselves being bad for you, they may be harboring pesticides and germs that cause disease, says Dr. Russell Blaylock, author of The Blaylock Wellness Report.
In honor of American Heart Month, Dolan offers the following tips to give your kitchen a heart-healthy makeover:
• Shop the perimeter of your local grocery store where fresh produce, dairy, seafood, and meat are stocked.
• Avoid processed foods such as frozen meals and canned goods. These foods are often very high in sodium and simple carbohydrates.
• Use fresh herbs, such as garlic and fresh mint, to add flavor rather than salt.
• Replace butter and vegetable oils with olive oil.
• Bake, broil, and grill instead of frying.
• Choose fish and chicken over red meat and pork.
• Limit alcohol to one drink a day.
Keep your food safe with these tips from Blaylock:
• Wash all vegetables and fruits. Fill a two-gallon pot with filtered water and add two caps of vegetable wash to remove germs and pesticide residues.
• Buy healthy-looking organic produce. Plants with spots and bruises may be infected with molds, viruses, and bacteria that secrete powerful toxic substances that are very toxic to people.
• Wash poultry well. Many are covered in chemicals and are contaminated with bacteria.
• Avoid injected meats and poultry. They usually contain chemicals that are toxic to the brain.
• Cook meats completely. Animals can be infected with carcinogenic viruses ,and evidence suggests that humans can develop cancer from these viruses.
For more tips on buying and keeping food safe, read Blaylock's special report " How to Avoid Poisonous Foods."
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