High noon can be a time of high anxiety for heart health as a greasy, salty lunch can undo the nutritious choices people make at breakfast or dinner.
Lunch has the potential to be the unhealthiest meal of the day, cardiologists say. They see their patients trying to eat in a hurry, grabbing pre-packaged and processed food, or succumbing to the temptation of burgers and pizza.
Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist, clinical associate professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, calls it “the danger zone.”
“You’ve got to get a quick bite, so it’s fast food, french fries and fried foods,” Goldberg, author of “The Women’s Healthy Heart Program: Lifesaving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease,” tells TODAY.com.
“It’s really important when you’re choosing things to eat for lunch to look for the hidden issues.”
The other danger is skipping lunch altogether, says Dr. Sean Heffron, a cardiologist in the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Health in New York.
“It’s a rare person who’s able to be comfortable while fasting for the entirety of the workday,” Heffron says.
“And when you get hungry or hangry, you’re far more liable to make choices not based on a well thought out meal plan, so reaching for (unhealthy) snacks or overeating at dinner because you’ve felt deprived all day long.”
Heffron is a morning exerciser, while Goldberg tends to get up very early, so both cardiologists say they’re hungry by mid-day and consider lunch an important meal.
What do doctors who take care of other people’s hearts eat for lunch to stay heart-healthy? Goldberg and Heffron shared their favorites:
What cardiologists eat for lunch:
Salad with a lean protein
Goldberg’s most frequent lunch is a salad of romaine lettuce topped with a protein such as a hard-boiled egg, grilled salmon or grilled chicken. She likes to add tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers to the mix. A few nuts like almonds or walnuts are also a…
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