Save your life: Eat tomatoes and mozzarella

[Hum]

Here?s a sandwich for members of the sandwich generation: A whole-wheat baguette topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, arugula, a slice of ripe tomato and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Eat one regularly?instead of, say, a cheeseburger?and it just might cut your risk of heart attack, stroke and other ?cardiac events? by 30%.

A blockbuster study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month yielded rigorous evidence that a so-called Mediterranean diet slashes the risk of heart problems in people at high risk for these conditions?including the many boomers who find themselves confronting cardiac issues in their 50s. Even for those not in a high-risk category, experts say there are plenty of benefits to eating a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables. A shift away from meat can save money at the grocery store, to say nothing of the savings in medical bills if health problems are averted.

Yet how we eat can be just as important as what we eat, experts say. Call it the Mediterranean lifestyle. It?s important to take our time and avoid skipping meals. Too often, ?we?re so hungry we attack food,? said Kathleen Zelman, a nutrition expert with insurer UnitedHealthcare, at a recent webinar. We don?t wait the 20 minutes that it takes to feel full before we go for a second helping, so we overeat. And we neglect exercise.

These kinds of lifestyle choices have taken their toll. Heart disease is the leading killer in the U.S. More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, a condition that can contribute to heart disease. The New England Journal of Medicine study showed that changes to the diet can reduce cardiac risks for people with risk factors including smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.

While the study didn?t focus on lifestyle, certain aspects of the Southern European culture contribute to healthier outcomes, such as making time to eat mindfully, experts say. Some dietitians think Americans should emulate the approach of most Europeans, who generally believe it?s good to linger at the dinner table with friends or family. In this model, electronic devices have no place at the table, unless you?re on call for work, not least because gadgets distract us from how much we?re really eating. In fact, scheduling regular ?turn-off time? is a good practice even beyond the table, said Stephanie Marston, a marriage and family therapist and CEO of 30 Days to Sanity, a firm specializing in improving resiliency, productivity, and work-life balance.

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[Charisma Veteran]

I've been eating this (sans the bread) in the evenings several times a week for years. :D I AM IMMORTAL!

[Torolol]

tomatoes & mozzarella .....

wait, thats main ingredient for .. Pizza !!

[-T- Member]

So, eat pizza?

[Hum]

wait, thats main ingredient for .. Pizza !!

I knew that stuffing myself with greasy Pizza Hut pies would pay off one day. :p

[DocM]

No baguette, 12 grain bread.

I eat a LOAD of tomatoes every day because of my love of homemade HOT salsa (tomatoes, red onions, habanero peppers, Korean red garlic, jalape?o (or Serrano) peppers, cilantro, okra, parsley, orange peppers, corn, yellow peppers, black beans, red peppers - you get the idea.) As in hot enough to use it for stripping paint. Don't necessarily eat it with chips either - just a bowl & spoon. Maybe mushroom chips. Go through 1.5 lbs of mushrooms a week for snacks.

Olive oil? Yep. Mozzarella? Maybe every other day, but high quality cheese of some kind every day - usually something so sharp it leaves tooth marks.

Yummmm....

[Growled Member]

One of my favorite meals. :)

[Buttus]

that's the only way i like raw tomato. or maybe in salsa like what DocM mentioned, that sounds good, minus the okra (ew! haha)

[mudslag]

I skip the bread, just heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella with virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt n ground pepper...mmmmmmmm

[Emon]

I don't like anything virgin ..

[Ambroos]

We have this exact thing in our school restaurant, I eat one pretty much daily. Soooo goooood!

[Growled Member]

I don't like anything virgin ..

You're missing out on all the fresh stuff.

[Ph1b3r0pt1c]

Here?s a sandwich for members of the sandwich generation: A whole-wheat baguette topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, arugula, a slice of ripe tomato and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Eat one regularly?instead of, say, a cheeseburger?and it just might cut your risk of heart attack, stroke and other ?cardiac events? by 30%.

A blockbuster study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month yielded rigorous evidence that a so-called Mediterranean diet slashes the risk of heart problems in people at high risk for these conditions?including the many boomers who find themselves confronting cardiac issues in their 50s. Even for those not in a high-risk category, experts say there are plenty of benefits to eating a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables. A shift away from meat can save money at the grocery store, to say nothing of the savings in medical bills if health problems are averted.

Yet how we eat can be just as important as what we eat, experts say. Call it the Mediterranean lifestyle. It?s important to take our time and avoid skipping meals. Too often, ?we?re so hungry we attack food,? said Kathleen Zelman, a nutrition expert with insurer UnitedHealthcare, at a recent webinar. We don?t wait the 20 minutes that it takes to feel full before we go for a second helping, so we overeat. And we neglect exercise.

These kinds of lifestyle choices have taken their toll. Heart disease is the leading killer in the U.S. More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, a condition that can contribute to heart disease. The New England Journal of Medicine study showed that changes to the diet can reduce cardiac risks for people with risk factors including smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.

While the study didn?t focus on lifestyle, certain aspects of the Southern European culture contribute to healthier outcomes, such as making time to eat mindfully, experts say. Some dietitians think Americans should emulate the approach of most Europeans, who generally believe it?s good to linger at the dinner table with friends or family. In this model, electronic devices have no place at the table, unless you?re on call for work, not least because gadgets distract us from how much we?re really eating. In fact, scheduling regular ?turn-off time? is a good practice even beyond the table, said Stephanie Marston, a marriage and family therapist and CEO of 30 Days to Sanity, a firm specializing in improving resiliency, productivity, and work-life balance.

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This didnt really mention anything about how the majority of americans (Where i am from) love their McDonalds fries, and everything else deep fried. High cholesterol has killed two people close to me in the past year. I wish I could get them to move to a diet thats high in fruits and vegatables, but they just wont do it. "To much work".