Latest news with #DrBhavnaSuri
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Eating More of This Fruit Might Be the Easiest Way To Lower Cholesterol
Eating More of This Fruit Might Be the Easiest Way To Lower Cholesterol originally appeared on Parade. While no one wants to hear from their doctor that their cholesterol is too high, this is one health condition that can be reversed. What you eat directly impacts your cholesterol, for better or for worse. The key to supporting your cholesterol levels through your diet comes down to knowing what foods are good for cholesterol, what foods are detrimental and then planning your meals and snacks accordingly. In fact, one fruit is so beneficial for cholesterol that you may want to start eating it every day. 🩺SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week💊 First, it may be helpful to know why having high cholesterol is detrimental to heart health. Scientific research shows that high LDL cholesterol significantly increases the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The reason for this is that when LDL cholesterol is high, it leads to plaque buildup in the arteries. This gets in the way of proper blood flow and makes the heart work harder. Suppose you want to eat in a way that will lower your cholesterol. In that case, Dr. Bhavna Suri, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder, says to focus on anti-inflammatory foods that are high in antioxidants. This includes vegetables, fruit, plant-based proteins such as beans, chickpeas and tofu, nuts, and spices and herbs. Related: Foods high in antioxidants—including all of the ones named above—support heart health by reducing oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress can damage cells, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Vegetables, fruit, plant-based proteins and nuts are also high in fiber, which is also beneficial for heart health. Scientific research shows that a high-fiber diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease because it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol and bile acids in the digestive system, which prevents cholesterol from entering the bloodstream. So if you are trying to lower your cholesterol, upping your fiber can go a long way! Related: While all fruits are beneficial to heart health, there's one in particular that's especially effective at lowering cholesterol when eaten regularly: raspberries. 'While there are no studies done to quantify the [exact] amount of raspberry intake needed to improve cholesterol levels, one cup of raspberries contains eight grams of fiber, which can help lower cholesterol,' Dr. Suri says. That's a lot of fiber packed into one cup! While there haven't been any large scientific studies done specifically on consuming raspberries to lower cholesterol, Dr. Suri says that small studies have shown that eating them increases HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and lowers LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). The high fiber and antioxidant content make them an especially powerful berry. Related: Another perk of eating raspberries is that they don't spike blood sugar the way many other sweet foods can. Stable blood sugar also supports heart health, so this is yet another way the small-but-mighty fruit benefits cardiovascular health. Keeping Dr. Suri's dietary advice for lowering cholesterol, ways to incorporate raspberries into heart-healthy meals include pairing them with oatmeal for breakfast, adding them into a smoothie with Greek yogurt, greens and banana, incorporating them into salads for lunch and pairing them with nuts for an afternoon snack. While certainly eating a handful of raspberries a day won't outweigh habits that negatively impact heart health (such as being sedentary, using tobacco or having a diet high in saturated fat), it's a great step in the right direction—and a delicious one. Keep them stocked and washed in your fridge so they're ready to eat whenever a craving for something sweet hits. That way, you'll have a heart-healthy way to satisfy it. Up Next:Dr. Bhavna Suri, MD, cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder Cholesterol and Nutrition. Cleveland Clinic Overview: High Cholesterol. Informed Health. National Library of Medicine Antioxidants and Coronary Artery Disease: From Pathophysiology to Preventive Artery Disease. 2016 Dietary Fiber is Beneficial for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: An Umbrella Review of of Chiropractic Medicine. 2017 Cholesterol-lowering effects of dietary fiber: a meta-analysis. Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects. National Library of Medicine The effects of raspberry consumption on lipid profile and blood pressure in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Food Science & Nutrition. 2024 Raspberries Improve Postprandial Glucose and Acute and Chronic Inflammation in Adults with Type 2 of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2019 Eating More of This Fruit Might Be the Easiest Way To Lower Cholesterol first appeared on Parade on Jul 13, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
The One Thing You Should Never, Ever Do in the Hour After Eating Lunch, According to a Cardiologist
The One Thing You Should Never, Ever Do in the Hour After Eating Lunch, According to a Cardiologist originally appeared on Parade. No matter what your health goals are, you likely start each day with the best of intentions. You have a healthy breakfast, full of fiber and protein. You enjoy a cup of coffee, which is known to support both brain and heart health. Maybe you even go for a walk or get a workout in. But by the time afternoon hits, it's easy for healthy habits to fall by the wayside. There's too much to do and not enough time, which can lead to doing (and eating) what's most convenient, even if it isn't healthy. And there's one common afternoon habit, in particular, that a cardiologist wishes people wouldn't do because it's detrimental to heart health. 🩺SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week💊 You're likely familiar with the afternoon slump. Typically, it happens about an hour after eating lunch. Blood sugar drops and tiredness sets in, making it hard to get through the rest of the day. To overcome it, many people turn to an energy drink. But Dr. Bhavna Suri, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder, wishes this habit would be left Suri explains that energy drinks can negatively impact heart health. 'Drinking these substances in excess sometimes speeds up our heart rate too much, or can cause some extra heartbeats, called ectopy,' she says, explaining that when this happens, it can lead to palpitations or a feeling of fluttering in the I'm a Cardiologist, and This 'Relaxing' Habit Is Actually Harming Your Heart Health Scientific research backs this up, showing that too much caffeine puts stress on the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of arrhythmia. Other studies show that drinking energy drinks can cause blood pressure to go up. Drinking soda isn't any better. Scientific research shows that regularly drinking soda increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, the same is true of diet soda. Another reason why Dr. Suri warns against using energy drinks to overcome an afternoon slump is because they can get in the way of getting a good night's sleep. Scientific research shows that not getting enough sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Related: Okay, so energy drinks and soda are out. What is a more heart-healthy way to get through the afternoon? Dr. Suri recommends taking a walk after lunch and getting some sunshine to help wake the body up. 'Incorporating a 15-minute walk [into your afternoon] can get blood circulating and can be good for your blood pressure and energy levels,' she says. Instead of downing an energy drink that can lead to heart palpitations, you'll be doing something that a wealth of scientific research has shown reduces the risk of cardiovascular Dr. Suri says that there's a way to craft your lunch in a way that will make experiencing an afternoon slump less likely. 'Having a protein-rich meal as opposed to high carbohydrates at lunch can improve energy levels,' she says. This is because simple carbs (like bread, chips, soda and pastries) increase blood sugar levels and then cause them to drop, which leads to a decrease in energy levels. But protein-based foods like chicken, tofu, beans and chickpeas don't spike blood sugar, which will keep energy levels more steady. Building an after-lunch walk into your daily routine is a way to keep your healthy habits going throughout the afternoon. By making a conscious effort to support your health in the morning and afternoon, you'll be more likely to keep it up in the evening too. Soon, your afternoon walk will become such an integral part of your routine that it will become automatic. And that's bound to benefit your heart both now and in the future. Up Next:Dr. Bhavna Suri, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder Effects of coffee/caffeine on brain health and disease: What should I tell my patients? Practical Neurology. 2016 Impact of Coffee Consumption on Cardiovascular Health. The Ochsner Journal. 2023 Effects of energy drinks on the cardiovascular system. World Journal of Cardiology. 2017 Energy Drink Consumption: Beneficial and Adverse Health Effects. International Journal of Health Sciences. 2015 The Impacts of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB) on Cardiovascular Health. Cureus. 2022 Diet Soft Drink Consumption is Associated with an Increased Risk of Vascular Events in the Northern Manhattan Study. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2012 Sleep Duration as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease — a Review of the Recent Cardiovascular Reviews. 2010 Walking — the first steps in cardiovascular disease Opinion in Cardiology. 2011 The One Thing You Should Never, Ever Do in the Hour After Eating Lunch, According to a Cardiologist first appeared on Parade on Jul 8, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
