August 7, 2024 • 33 mins
Explore the vital role of culinary medicine in managing and preventing cardiovascular disease, featuring expert insights from Physician Associate, TV Chef and Emmy award winning TV host, Jessica DeLuise. Discover how making informed food choices can significantly impact your heart health, and get evidence-based nutritional strategies to help you take control of issues including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
In this episode you’ll hear:
2:00 - What is a physician assistant or physician associate?
3:30 - How culinary medicine can play a role in urgent care.
4:20 - What prevents people from eating healthier foods?
6:00 - Cardiovascular disease and culinary medicine.
10:45 - Getting through the “food noise” on social media with evidence-based information.
11:50 - Food tips for high blood pressure and overall health.
19:00 - Healthy Eating Plate
20:00 - Importance of sleep for heart health, weight and mental health.
22:00 - Does exercise have to be intense to be effective?
23:50 - Healthy nachos: How to build an easy nacho plate.
28:15 - Why are legumes healthy?
30:40 – Importance of nutrition education for healthcare practitioners.
Credits:
Host - Dr. Sabrina Falquier, MD, CCMS, DipABLM
Sound and Editing - Will Crann
Executive Producer - Esther Garfin
©2024 Alternative Food Network Inc.
Referenced in the episode:
In this episode you’ll hear:
2:00 - What is a physician assistant or physician associate?
3:30 - How culinary medicine can play a role in urgent care.
4:20 - What prevents people from eating healthier foods?
6:00 - Cardiovascular disease and culinary medicine.
10:45 - Getting through the “food noise” on social media with evidence-based information.
11:50 - Food tips for high blood pressure and overall health.
19:00 - Healthy Eating Plate
20:00 - Importance of sleep for heart health, weight and mental health.
22:00 - Does exercise have to be intense to be effective?
23:50 - Healthy nachos: How to build an easy nacho plate.
28:15 - Why are legumes healthy?
30:40 – Importance of nutrition education for healthcare practitioners.
Credits:
Host - Dr. Sabrina Falquier, MD, CCMS, DipABLM
Sound and Editing - Will Crann
Executive Producer - Esther Garfin
©2024 Alternative Food Network Inc.
Referenced in the episode:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When we talk about cardiovacid disease, and really why we're
so passionate about it as providers is because it's a
big deal. It has been the number one killer of
men and women for a very long time. And the
other thing about it that they don't think people quite
understand is that a lot of cardiovacci disease diagnoses are modifiable.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the Culinary Medicine Recipe podcast. If you've
ever been told to eat healthier and want healthy food
to be delicious, this podcast delivers the dice and delectable details.
I'm your host, doctor Saprina Falker. I truly enjoyed delicious
food and am passionate about the field of medicine. In
this series, I'll be spending time in the space where
(00:43):
the two intersect you might have heard about food is medicine,
medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and teaching kitchens. In this series,
I interview top chefs, doctors, healthcare visionaries, and food service
professionals who are making leaps forward in the field of
culinary medicine. In addition to hosted interviews, I am also
(01:03):
sharing practical tips in short, bite sized episodes to give
you immediate, actionable steps to optimize your health. These bites
are available in both English and my first language, which
is Spanish. Join me as we explore the amazing new
world of culinary medicine, where I will empower you to
make changes to your health and wellness right away. Welcome
(01:25):
to today's episode. Today's guest is a TV Chef, Emmy
Award winning TV host, physician assistant, and a certified culinary
medicine specialist. I welcome Jessica de Luiz to today's episode
of Culinary Medicine Recipe. Welcome Jessica.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Thank you Doctor Valkia for having me. This is so exciting.
I am thrilled for you and this podcast and to
contribute in a little way. So I'm looking forward to
our conversation today.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Wonderful. So to get started, the area of specialty that
you practice within the medical community might be something that
people don't know about, So could you explain what physician
assistant or physician associate is?
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Sure, of course, and thank you for using our newer titles.
So most recently in twenty twenty four, there was a
legislation that has changed our professional name, so from a
physician assistant to a physician associate the same exact degree
profession in case people that are listening have seen it
both ways, and we are medical practitioners, so you may
(02:25):
see an NP or PA or doctor in a very
similar way as a patient. And we can prescribe, diagnose,
and see patients in all areas of medicine, whether that
be surgical, in patient, outpatient, you name it. We're everywhere,
and it's a really exciting profession. It's actually more than
forty years old. We're still though, educating about who we
are and what we do. It originated from Navy corman
(02:48):
who were in combat and learned all these really useful
medical skills but then didn't have a way to practice
them once they got back for more in the States,
and that is really the origin of professions, very very
neat story.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And your career specifically has taken root in really unexpected ways,
I imagine, even for yourself. So today we're going to
explore a lot of those areas that you've taken your work,
and specifically of course within culinary medicine. So my first
question for you is what are some specific conditions that
you address within culinary medicine.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, my career has definitely. I never know where we're
going next is something that is super stressful but also
one of the most exciting parts about what I do.
My most recent job in medicine, so as a physician assistant,
was an urgent care and what was really neat about
that in regard to culinary medicine is you don't really
put those two together. I don't think, But I think
(03:44):
what's important to understand is that culinary medicine touches patients
throughout medicine, and so we can take some of those
really important principles from culinary medicine and apply them to
patient care. Heart disease is something I'm often educating about. Probiotics,
reflux and ibs very very common, and things that we're
seeing often in urgent care. So I think the sky's
(04:07):
a limit with culinary medicine. I can sit here and
list off diagnosis after diagnosis, but really I think if
you have that diagnosis or you have that symptom, there's
probably an implication for culinary medicine.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
From your experience. Is it knowledge gaps about nutritional food
or costs or access or something else that prevents people
from eating healthier.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Foods, such a loaded question because I think that we
are in twenty twenties and there is such an overwhelming
amount of information out there, so we are all over informed,
I believe, and sometimes under accessed. So we might see
(04:51):
all of this information not know how to put it
in perspective when it comes to our past medical history,
and then we might not have the access too the
resources that we need to get these more nutritious foods right.
And a lot of what I do here in the
outskirts or the suburbs of Philadelphia is combat food insecurity
(05:13):
and food access, and so I work closely with a
lot of organizations, one of them being the Philadelphia American
Heart Association, to talk about that, can we go to
that drug store on the corner that might be you know,
something that's more accessible to many patients that are getting
off the bus for example, right or a gas station
and make healthful, meaningful food choices. So I try to
(05:36):
think about that, the access to the actual tool, which
is food in this case, the access to the actual tool.
Whenever I'm educating a patient or doing any work in
a philanthropic.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Role focusing on heart disease, how do you approach people
with heart disease? As individuals, so in urgent care, for example,
versus if you're doing community work, either in person or
through social media or other means. Using the culinary medicine principles.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I think the biggest point that I like to drive
home when I talk to other practitioners as well, is
that we have to meet patients where they are, and
they may not necessarily be in a state of change
when we first encounter them. And so that's what I
think our primary care providers. They have such an important
role in this culinary medicine model because they have continued
(06:29):
access to the patient where I might not in urgent
care or someone in the hospital setting may also not
have that repetitive interaction. But meeting patients where they are,
so if they're not in that state of change at
time zero, well we could follow up with them in
three months and reassess that. So I think that's an
important clinary medicine model. I think that talking with somebody
(06:50):
in terms that they understand, in terms that makes sense
to them and their lifestyle and their family is super important,
and I like to approach all my patients that way.
Whether I'll go ahead and say patience, because even when
I'm presenting at a corporate event. They're patients of somebody, right,
They're patients in the larger sense.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
So as we're getting into the more granular aspects, how
do you define cardiovascular disease or heart disease? Because I
know that's a blanket statement that some people don't know
the full definition or understand it.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, when we say cardiovascular disease, and when we position
it as this is the number one killer of men
and women worldwide, you know, someone dies every thirty something
seconds of cardiovascular disease or related diagnoses. I think people
hear it and they don't think this affects me. But
what I want people to understand is cardiovascular disease is
(07:41):
a blanket term and it does affect everyone. And whether
or not I'm asked to speak on a topic an
entirely different topic, I always try to include information about
cardiovascular disease because it does. It impacts me and impacts
you and everybody else listening, and it is a blanket
term for those things that we're more familiar with, hypertension,
(08:03):
high cholesterol, right stroke. If you said to somebody, hey,
are you familiar with cardiovasci the disease, probably they wouldn't
be right education level aside. It's just like the term
that maybe they're not familiar with, but high blood pressure,
Hey do you know someone with high blood pressure? Nine
times out of ten they're gonna say absolutely, Or hey
do you know somebody with high cholesterol? Absolutely? So I
(08:26):
want people to understand that when we talk about cardiovascid
disease and really why we're so passionate about it as
providers is because it's a big deal. It has been
the number one killer of men and women for a
very long time. And the other thing about it that
they don't think people quite understand is that a lot
of cardiovascu the disease diagnoses are modifiable. Right. We have
(08:50):
control over how much med for a lot of things,
not all the things, but how much medication we are
on an outcome of that diagnosis. We can really take
onus of that through diet, terry changes and through lifestyle.
What I focus on primarily are things like high blood
pressure because I think that that is a very common diagnosis.
(09:11):
It's also something that people are familiar with. I don't
think that they're familiar with. You know, if I were
to say to somebody, hey, listen, let's talk about a
trial fibrillation. Right now, They're going to say, no, I
don't want to talk about that, Like why would I
want to talk right unless they know who's somebody or
they themselves have that diagnosis. So hypertension, high cholesterol, these
are terms that people are very familiar with. They themselves
(09:33):
or they know somebody who you know has a prescription
for this condition. And so that is how I typically
will talk about cardiovastro disease, and then we talk about
what changes are necessary. So you know, obviously, in my
clinical practice and urgent care, we might not be making
changes right then and there, but if they ask me
specific questions, certainly I can provide some guidance. When I
(09:56):
educate on social media, which is primarily where I really
love to get into the kitchen and share tips and recipes,
I am talking about food in a very approachable way.
It's not about this restrictive morality sometimes that people are
giving to food, that this food is bad and you
(10:17):
should feel guilty, or one of the things that I'm
sure I've used in my past. But I no longer
feel this way is guilt free, Like there's none of
that here, right, It's all about enjoying your foods and
enjoying the foods that you and your family have known
for years, or recipes that may have been passed down
from generation generation in a way that can support your
crime disease prevention and live your best quality of life possible.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
And as you mentioned your work in social media, there's
so much information, and I've heard you use the term
food noise. How do you work within this noisy environment
and try to attract or work with your audience to
give them evidence based information.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, the food noise is a term that I like
to use because it is like that, like the feeling
of walking into a crowded restaurant and having all that
chatter is how I feel social media can sometimes be.
And I love I love social media because this is
a free tool that reaches a lot of people quickly,
and so I think it's a really great platform for
(11:19):
practitioners to educate on. So what I like to do
is identify who I am and what my educational background is,
because I think that's important and not to say that
someone couldn't provide really high quality information without a physician
assistant degree, but on letting the viewer know that I
do have a background in medicine, I am able to
(11:40):
read studies and what I'm saying can be something that
can be trusted and brought to your practitioner to discuss
to see if it fits into your medical plan.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Right, So, say I have high blood pressure? Can you
tell me what are tips that I should know? What
are really specific things that you could tell me that
would help me that empower me to know how to
prepare a dish or what to think about if I'm
out in the real world that will help use again
culinary medicine principles.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Sure, and with the caveat of this is just something.
This is based on general information, right, This is not
based on whoever is listening to. This not a specific
recommendation for you. Okay, so take it with a grain
of salt, not literally. But let's talk about cardiovascular disease.
The thing about cardiovascular disease and some of those lifestyle
(12:30):
and dietary changes that we implement, they have much more
profound impacts on our overall wellness than just cardiovascular disease.
If we look at the huge predimed study, right, which
we talk about over and over in the CCMs program,
we can see that this eating style, or incorporating more
olive oil, legumes, nuts, more of what we would call
(12:53):
a Mediterranean diet type dietary intake could actually impact cognition,
our cognitive health. It could be helpful for diabetes management,
weight management, so many other things. So I think that
that's really important to think about is that when we
make these changes, they're not just going to affect one
disease process. Often they're really again profound and meaningful. The
(13:19):
first place that I would tell people to start is
in their kitchen, So just choosing to eat foods as
much as possible from their own kitchen that are mostly
on process. Again, it's not about what you're doing here
and there. So if you were to decide to have
a piece of birthday cake or something on the weekend
because you go to a party, who cares. But for
(13:40):
the most part, it's what you're doing every single day
consistently that's going to have the most meaningful change. So
I always tell people that it's unless you have an
immediate dangerous reaction to food and your practitioner said you
cannot eat food, it's about the changes that you're making
most of the time. So to give yourself a little grace,
have a little patients when you're making these changes, and
(14:02):
to understand that we live in the twenty twenties and
so there are things that are not always going to
align with what our goals are. And that's okay. Like
there's going to be days that are just outliers and
that's just what it is. So the first place I
would say is start with your home kitchen. We know
that foods that we get from packages or from restaurants,
they're very heavily salted, So that would be the first
(14:24):
thing I would say is consider sodium and salt intake.
And when we cook in our kitchen, we can really
control that, right, We can moderate the amount of salt
that we intake. Fluid follow salt, so we know that
the more salt we consume, the more water our body
is going to hang on too, because it likes a
good balance, and that that's more volume that our heart
(14:44):
that needs to pump around. And so that might be
a good starting place is just looking at that one
thing first, right Next, I really love I really do
love the USDA my plate model. I think it's such
a great visual representation of a balanced plate. And so
if you're just starting changes or a journey of eating
(15:06):
for cardiovascular disease. That might be a good place to
start because what it does is it gives you a
nice framework for incorporating more fruits and vegetables. And Harvard
actually has a great plate model that incorporates healthful fats,
So I really like that one because the USDA model
does not have that in it and reminds us about exercise.
The Harvard plate one reminds us about exercise as well.
(15:28):
And then to that end, healthful fats. And again this
is why I'm going to give you a lot of
tips here. Starting one thing at a time is also
very important. So it's okay to master one thing and
then move on to a next a couple months later.
It's not all of these things right now, today or tomorrow.
On the note of healthful fats. Incorporating more of those
(15:50):
unsaturated fats, so our fats from our olive oil, our greens,
are nuts, are fish like salmon, those omega three fatty acids,
more of those fats, less of the fats from packaged items,
saturated fat from butter or red meat. We know, we
know the studies will tell us that replacing saturated fats
(16:12):
in our diets with unsaturated fats. It's clear that there
is benefit in cardiovascular disease, it's not ambiguous. So I
think that's also a great tip for people. And the
next thing is being really mindful of process versus ultra
processed foods. And I always give the example of corn, okay,
because corn is something I think we can all visualize
right now at ear of corn. An ear of corn
(16:34):
looks like corn when we pick it off the stem, Okay,
So that's really an unprocessed foods. We want the majority
of our foods, what we're doing most of the time,
to be unprocessed foods if we can do it, if
we have access to it right obviously, if it's in season.
All those things are things to consider processed foods. And
over my later career, I've changed my thought on processed foods.
(16:57):
Processed foods would be taking that ear of corn and
taking it off the cob and freezing it. Right to me,
there's a process involved in that, So that would technically
be a processed food, and that's a perfectly fine processed food, right.
Get your frozen foods their shelf stable. You know it's
undergone a process that makes it easier and more convenient
for me too, usually cheaper for me to stock in
(17:19):
my kitchen or is it canned right in a saltwater brine,
So that would be a processed foods. Most of the
foods that we consume, my husband and I during the
week because we're busy, we work full time, they fall
in that category, right, they're like ready to go foods
and limit if at all possible, kind of going back
to the birthday cake at a party, right, who cares
if that happens once in a while in my opinion
(17:40):
for me, but limiting those ultra processed foods. So that
would be like the corn tortilla chip. It's no longer
recognizable as corn, right, and so it might be ultra
it might be considered ultra process. This might be different
than somebody who's actually milled the corn and made flour
and made like a homemadetilla. That's a different thing I'm
(18:02):
talking about that you go, you grab a package from
the store, you don't know what the ingredients are, and
it's a more heavily processed item. And then of course
we're getting that salt that I talked about before, maybe
more saturated fats all of these things. So I would
say that if we could just think about our food
in a balanced way, as much unprocessed or minimally processed
(18:24):
as possible, replacing some of those those saturated fats with
unsaturated fats, and being mindful of sodium. I think those
are four like excellent, excellent places to start, and it's enough.
I think once people start to implement those things, they're
going to say, oh my gosh, this is.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
A lot, Jessica. I love the visuals that you've given me.
As again, if I were coming to you as somebody
with high blood pressure of what should I put on
my plate? What may I choose to put on my plate?
As many people say, the word should just has this connotation,
so giving people choice and agency over what's on there.
(19:01):
I do want to emphasize that the Canadian government food
plate does a really great job as well, and recently
they transition to actually showing pictures of food rather than
kind of blocked out images. So that's a really great
resource and it goes right along with what Jessica has
told us today. So if you have not looked at that, Jessica,
that may be something for you to consider.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I love that because most of us do not eat
in a deconstructed way, right, It's kind of like this
more of a meal when we put together food on
our plate. So I like that. I will definitely look
it up.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, and may I tell people maybe you choose see
Toddler style with everything separated, but most of us put
all those ingredients together, even if it's making an incredibly
nutrient dense, delicious smoothie to eating a salad or other meal.
We do have a byte episode that's about the plate
and what to consider to put on your plate, so
you can reference to that, and specifically we've been talking
(19:56):
about again what to put on the plate. Yet it
is much more more than the food. So take us
to there's this potential scenario of someone with high blood
pressure or hypertension. What else do you recommend? You've seen
me we're talking about food choices, but what else?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I do love that you prompted me for this, because
you're right, food is so impactful. But what else can
we be doing again to be our own advocates and
to promote our own wellness? So one thing I always
I will die on this hill. Sleep. Sleep is so
important and I think a lot of people discredit sleep, right,
It's we try to do as much as we can
throughout the day, and our sleep often is the thing
(20:35):
that gets compromised. But I know that if I see
a patient and they have high blood pressure or they're
put on high blood pressure medication, this is just an example,
and maybe they're not responding well to it, or maybe
they are also having weight gain. I see some other
characteristics in these patients. I always think about sleep and
I ask, you know, are you snoring? How much do
(20:56):
you sleep? How soundly do you sleep? When you wake up?
Do you feel right? All these things are very very
important because they can all contribute to cardiovascular disease. They
can all contribute to weight maintenance and weight loss. And
here's the thing. I will say this too. I will
this is another hill I'll die on. Weight does not
necessarily equal health, and that is a big That is
(21:18):
a big thing for patients, especially those who grew up
in my generation right when weight was so focused on.
It was one of those paramount things above all else,
versus looking on the inside and you know, getting blood
work checked. So but it you know, super important to consider,
but not the end all be all, And so I
do often talk about that too with patients. But yes,
(21:39):
sleep can ripple into all aspects of our life. And
you find sometimes people who have sleep apnea and then
it gets corrected. How all of a sudden, all of
these things can be their blood pressure, their weight, their mood,
all of these things. They're focused at work and they're
you know, as astonished as we are as practice titioners.
(22:01):
And then the other thing is exercise. We are in
an era where we're looking at high intensity hit exercise
and these gyms where they're flipping these tires and like,
oh my gosh, that's so impressive, you know, And I
do I like that kind of exercise, you know, I
find it fun. But I don't think that that is
(22:24):
what we need to be promoting to everyone. And I
think we need to help patients understand that that is
not the exercise that they have to do. Exercise does
not need to be intent. You can go for a walk,
particularly after a meal, which we know can be great
for our blood glucose levels, digestion, mental health, just to
get out in nature. You know, a nice brisk walk
(22:47):
can be enough consistently to get that recommended amount of exercise.
And if walking is not your thing you have joint pain,
water aerobics or something low impact can be a great alternative.
So I think that's a common misconception that patients have.
Is it because they're not intensely working out and sweating
and they're not you know, someone's like yelling at them
(23:07):
to do in another mile that it's not meaningful or effective,
and that's just not the case.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
I like to add dance to that, Yes, I know that, Yes, yes, yeah.
Sometimes I find that reminding people of what movement they
might have enjoyed, maybe a few decades ago, can help
with that as well. So yeah, yeah, I'm cringing.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
We do a lot of dancing. Go, we do a
lot of dancing. We foster children here at our home,
and so we have a lot of Disney dance parties. Okay,
So in case those with children, just put on YouTube
or some Disney something and your kids. You know, it's
a great way to get your kids involved too, right,
And how much more fun can you have? I can't
have much more fun than that.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
One question I have. I want to go back to
those nachos you were talking about earlier, because I'm excited
by them, and there's often the sense that that would
be on the kind of birthday cake side of the list, right,
like ooh, that's.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah, it's once in a wild food right, ones in
a wild foods.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Right, Yes, But this emphasis on using nachos, which is
something that we love. How can you paint the visual
of how I can make my nachos and it be
really had these nutritional, dense, delicious components.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Absolutely, so I think circling back, so there's layers to nachos,
which I think is just fantastic, right because it allows
the opportunity to get creative and add what we want
to top our nachos. So if we were to use
a corn tortilla that was actually made from masa, right,
which is just ground corn, and so we sourced something
like that which is readily available. You can find corn
(24:45):
tortillas almost anywhere now and they freeze really well, and
so then you could just bake those. So I typically
will get corn tortillas, chop them into fours, bake them
on a baking sheet easily. See, you can season them right,
even start to get a little creative season the cuman
and paprika, and there's some layers to flavor there. But
also by making your own chips. We're modifying sodium, right,
(25:06):
we're adding flavor, we're modifying sodium. We're getting corn is
a whole technically a vegetable, an a whole grain. So
there you go with that, and then you can add
what you want there. So my next layer for my
nachos is protein. So are you adding an animal based protein?
Are you adding a plant based protein? So you can
add you know, go get that five dollars rotastrie chicken
if you're busy, and pull the chicken right off of it. Right.
(25:28):
No one's saying that you need to slow cooked chicken
and spend lots of money because you know, grocers are expensive. No,
go get the rotisserie chicken. In my opinion, it's kind
of a nice shortcut and shred that on top or
a can of beans, rinse out the brine, put your
beans on top or both, right. Often sometimes there's a
place for both if you like both. And then your veggies.
(25:50):
Salsa is one of those foods in the kitchen that
I find to be such a great flavor bomb, so convenient,
it's purely veg and so you put that on top
to your avocado or guacamole and then instead of sour cream,
I swap in plain yogurt because I'm reducing my saturated
(26:11):
fat intake, increasing protein and probiotics. So that's a great
topping there. And if you wanted to add cheese, if
you you know, if your body tolerates dairy, a little
bit of sprinkle of cheese on top, I think is
also a great option. And then listen, you think about
all your semi process or like a little bit minimally
processed foods, your pickled halapanos, your banana peppers, all of
(26:33):
your hot sauce, like all of those amazing things that
are veggies. Maybe they're coming from a jar, and just
making sure that you're being mindful of the brine that
can sometimes carry lots of salt. But that could be
a great dinner. And if you built everyone, if everyone
got a plate nachos, and you put all those ingredients
in the middle of the table. And for me, my
(26:53):
husband and I will grab most of the veggies, oh,
shredded lettuce, write fresh produce if you have access to it.
I forgot to mention that my husband and I will
choose a lot of veggies. We have a three and
a half year old foster child with us now, who
doesn't choose as many veggies, but she can see us
eating them and we're introducing them. And I think that's
super important when you have a family, is just reintroduction, reintroduction.
(27:15):
You know, a year ago she did any cucumbers. Today
she does because I just introduced them, you know, with
every meal. So that's very very important thought, as well
as just getting your kids involved in that kind of
building their own plate, getting curious, getting creative, and there
you go, there's a more heart friendly, healthy however you
want to put it, not your plate.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
I can absolutely see that plate, and hopefully this gives
an idea of it doesn't have to be complicated and cravable.
And I'm seeing that with this. I mean, you just
built up this plate that hopefully the listeners you're hearing
this and saying, ah, okay, that's doable, right. There's not
this crazy amount of steps or money that have to
(27:57):
be involved with it to give yourself that plant forward
eating and really move health in the direction. So I
really appreciate that visual and I am completely craving nachos now.
And we actually have an episode where we have a
recipe on a bean dip, so that would go right
along with these delicious nachos. Do you use lagomes or
how do you feel about lagomes overall?
Speaker 1 (28:19):
I well, you know, I certainly part of our culinary
medicine training is lagumes, lagume, and I can always when
I went for my training down to New Orleans, doctor Harlan,
one of the things that's stuck in my mind is
we love lagomes, right, he is all about lagumes that
entire team. You know, I grew up in an Italian household,
so lentils, beans were just part of the meal, like
(28:42):
even if it wasn't part of the meal originally, it
was part of the meal. We always had legumes, and
I think that there was such a cost effective, convenient
source of fiber and plant based protein. You know, ninety
five ish percent of people are not getting the recommended
amount of fiber, and I think fiber is one of
those nutrients that is often overlooked. Legumes so dense in fiber, right,
(29:05):
both soluble and insoluble fiber. So not only are we
having bow regularity with our fiber, we know that that
impacts cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. We know certain types
of fiber can feed beneficial gut flora, right, circling back
to replenishing our gut microbiome. So beans are I'm all
about the I'm all about the beans, right, Doctor Harlan said,
(29:26):
at best, I love lagomes.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Oh I love it. I even have that on a
T shirt that do you really?
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Okay, Well, I'll send you my address so I can,
I can, maybe you could share a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Just kidding, just kidding, sort of. Yes, this is so great.
So as we finish up, is there anything that you
didn't mention today or that you wish I'd asked you
that you want to share with our audience.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
You know, there's so much to talk about when it
comes to culinary medicine, and so I think what's important
is if you are, if you are a patient receiving
this information, understanding that there's so much out there and
it's important to choose one thing to focus on first,
right and talk with your seek professional help.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I tell everybody this, seek professional help, whether that be
a healthcare provider, a dietitian. Get help. Because there is
so much and there's so much nuance in this so
understanding how food can impact you is going to be
completely different than how food impacts your significant other in
the same household and your neighbor down the street, So
(30:35):
get help. I think this is important disclosure. And as
a practitioner, we're always learning and so something you know,
something that I didn't get a lot of in PA
school and most practitioners don't, is nutrition education as part
of our formal training. So we it's up to us
now to seek out resources like culinary medicine certification that
(30:59):
we both have, or an alternate education if you so choose,
to better empower and help our patients. I think, particularly
as we circle back to social media and what patients
are seeing, they're coming in with questions, they're seeing it.
You know, it's up to us to really help them
understand what is important to think about and what's probably
not so important to think about.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
There's two take home messages that I heard you say
today I just want to repeat as we finish up.
Number one is that it's not that one has to
eat one way if you have diabetes, and a different
way if you have obesb in a different way if
you have had a stroke. There are some nuances like
you mentioned, but there are so many broadstoke changes that
you really touched base on today, Jessica. That help all
(31:44):
of them, right, because one of the pieces is it
can get someone so confused that then people get paralyzed.
And as a reminder, and the other take home is
that if we can get people cooking at home, and
you said it, and I just want to re emphasize
it as we finish up, that is the biggest difference
because of what ingredients we're choosing and we're seeing those
(32:07):
ingredients rather than it being happening behind closed doors and
you're buying the packaged item. So I really appreciate so
many details and broad strokes that you gave us. How
do people reach you? How do they learn more about
the incredible work that you're doing.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Those are two great takeaways from today the Wellness kitchen
Essa dot com. So my primary focus now is public education.
So I'm speaking, I'm on social media, I'm contributing to
the media all over Philadelphia and the US. The Wellness
Kitchenessa dot com is kind of a hub for all
of those segments. If you want to watch them, you
can contact me or follow on social So if you
(32:44):
consume your news on TikTok or Instagram, like most of us.
You know, I hate to say it, we do now.
It's the Wellness Kitchenista is my tag. That's how you
can find me. Shoot me a message and I'm happy
to connect there.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Thank you so much, Jessica. It's truly been a pleasure
to share this time and space and to really hear
about your expertise.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Thank you, Thank you for having me. It's been fun.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
I hope you feel motivated by this episode. Please leave
us a rating and a review, and mention our show
to others who you think could use this information. That
could be your doctor, it could be somebody who works
in the food service industry who's interested in the health components.
It could be a friend that is working on their
health journey. If you want to hear more, please remember
to follow Culinary Medicine Recipe on your favorite podcast listening platform.
(33:30):
Until next time, Sandu and Bona Pettie. All content provided
or opinions expressed in this episode are for informational purposes
only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Please take advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional.
When we talk about cardiovacid disease, and really why we're
so passionate about it as providers is because it's a
big deal. It has been the number one killer of
men and women for a very long time. And the
other thing about it that they don't think people quite
understand is that a lot of cardiovacci disease diagnoses are modifiable.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the Culinary Medicine Recipe podcast. If you've
ever been told to eat healthier and want healthy food
to be delicious, this podcast delivers the dice and delectable details.
I'm your host, doctor Saprina Falker. I truly enjoyed delicious
food and am passionate about the field of medicine. In
this series, I'll be spending time in the space where
(00:43):
the two intersect you might have heard about food is medicine,
medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and teaching kitchens. In this series,
I interview top chefs, doctors, healthcare visionaries, and food service
professionals who are making leaps forward in the field of
culinary medicine. In addition to hosted interviews, I am also
(01:03):
sharing practical tips in short, bite sized episodes to give
you immediate, actionable steps to optimize your health. These bites
are available in both English and my first language, which
is Spanish. Join me as we explore the amazing new
world of culinary medicine, where I will empower you to
make changes to your health and wellness right away. Welcome
(01:25):
to today's episode. Today's guest is a TV Chef, Emmy
Award winning TV host, physician assistant, and a certified culinary
medicine specialist. I welcome Jessica de Luiz to today's episode
of Culinary Medicine Recipe. Welcome Jessica.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Thank you Doctor Valkia for having me. This is so exciting.
I am thrilled for you and this podcast and to
contribute in a little way. So I'm looking forward to
our conversation today.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Wonderful. So to get started, the area of specialty that
you practice within the medical community might be something that
people don't know about, So could you explain what physician
assistant or physician associate is?
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Sure, of course, and thank you for using our newer titles.
So most recently in twenty twenty four, there was a
legislation that has changed our professional name, so from a
physician assistant to a physician associate the same exact degree
profession in case people that are listening have seen it
both ways, and we are medical practitioners, so you may
(02:25):
see an NP or PA or doctor in a very
similar way as a patient. And we can prescribe, diagnose,
and see patients in all areas of medicine, whether that
be surgical, in patient, outpatient, you name it. We're everywhere,
and it's a really exciting profession. It's actually more than
forty years old. We're still though, educating about who we
are and what we do. It originated from Navy corman
(02:48):
who were in combat and learned all these really useful
medical skills but then didn't have a way to practice
them once they got back for more in the States,
and that is really the origin of professions, very very
neat story.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And your career specifically has taken root in really unexpected ways,
I imagine, even for yourself. So today we're going to
explore a lot of those areas that you've taken your work,
and specifically of course within culinary medicine. So my first
question for you is what are some specific conditions that
you address within culinary medicine.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, my career has definitely. I never know where we're
going next is something that is super stressful but also
one of the most exciting parts about what I do.
My most recent job in medicine, so as a physician assistant,
was an urgent care and what was really neat about
that in regard to culinary medicine is you don't really
put those two together. I don't think, But I think
(03:44):
what's important to understand is that culinary medicine touches patients
throughout medicine, and so we can take some of those
really important principles from culinary medicine and apply them to
patient care. Heart disease is something I'm often educating about. Probiotics,
reflux and ibs very very common, and things that we're
seeing often in urgent care. So I think the sky's
(04:07):
a limit with culinary medicine. I can sit here and
list off diagnosis after diagnosis, but really I think if
you have that diagnosis or you have that symptom, there's
probably an implication for culinary medicine.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
From your experience. Is it knowledge gaps about nutritional food
or costs or access or something else that prevents people
from eating healthier.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Foods, such a loaded question because I think that we
are in twenty twenties and there is such an overwhelming
amount of information out there, so we are all over informed,
I believe, and sometimes under accessed. So we might see
(04:51):
all of this information not know how to put it
in perspective when it comes to our past medical history,
and then we might not have the access too the
resources that we need to get these more nutritious foods right.
And a lot of what I do here in the
outskirts or the suburbs of Philadelphia is combat food insecurity
(05:13):
and food access, and so I work closely with a
lot of organizations, one of them being the Philadelphia American
Heart Association, to talk about that, can we go to
that drug store on the corner that might be you know,
something that's more accessible to many patients that are getting
off the bus for example, right or a gas station
and make healthful, meaningful food choices. So I try to
(05:36):
think about that, the access to the actual tool, which
is food in this case, the access to the actual tool.
Whenever I'm educating a patient or doing any work in
a philanthropic.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Role focusing on heart disease, how do you approach people
with heart disease? As individuals, so in urgent care, for example,
versus if you're doing community work, either in person or
through social media or other means. Using the culinary medicine principles.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I think the biggest point that I like to drive
home when I talk to other practitioners as well, is
that we have to meet patients where they are, and
they may not necessarily be in a state of change
when we first encounter them. And so that's what I
think our primary care providers. They have such an important
role in this culinary medicine model because they have continued
(06:29):
access to the patient where I might not in urgent
care or someone in the hospital setting may also not
have that repetitive interaction. But meeting patients where they are,
so if they're not in that state of change at
time zero, well we could follow up with them in
three months and reassess that. So I think that's an
important clinary medicine model. I think that talking with somebody
(06:50):
in terms that they understand, in terms that makes sense
to them and their lifestyle and their family is super important,
and I like to approach all my patients that way.
Whether I'll go ahead and say patience, because even when
I'm presenting at a corporate event. They're patients of somebody, right,
They're patients in the larger sense.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
So as we're getting into the more granular aspects, how
do you define cardiovascular disease or heart disease? Because I
know that's a blanket statement that some people don't know
the full definition or understand it.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, when we say cardiovascular disease, and when we position
it as this is the number one killer of men
and women worldwide, you know, someone dies every thirty something
seconds of cardiovascular disease or related diagnoses. I think people
hear it and they don't think this affects me. But
what I want people to understand is cardiovascular disease is
(07:41):
a blanket term and it does affect everyone. And whether
or not I'm asked to speak on a topic an
entirely different topic, I always try to include information about
cardiovascular disease because it does. It impacts me and impacts
you and everybody else listening, and it is a blanket
term for those things that we're more familiar with, hypertension,
(08:03):
high cholesterol, right stroke. If you said to somebody, hey,
are you familiar with cardiovasci the disease, probably they wouldn't
be right education level aside. It's just like the term
that maybe they're not familiar with, but high blood pressure,
Hey do you know someone with high blood pressure? Nine
times out of ten they're gonna say absolutely, Or hey
do you know somebody with high cholesterol? Absolutely? So I
(08:26):
want people to understand that when we talk about cardiovascid
disease and really why we're so passionate about it as
providers is because it's a big deal. It has been
the number one killer of men and women for a
very long time. And the other thing about it that
they don't think people quite understand is that a lot
of cardiovascu the disease diagnoses are modifiable. Right. We have
(08:50):
control over how much med for a lot of things,
not all the things, but how much medication we are
on an outcome of that diagnosis. We can really take
onus of that through diet, terry changes and through lifestyle.
What I focus on primarily are things like high blood
pressure because I think that that is a very common diagnosis.
(09:11):
It's also something that people are familiar with. I don't
think that they're familiar with. You know, if I were
to say to somebody, hey, listen, let's talk about a
trial fibrillation. Right now, They're going to say, no, I
don't want to talk about that, Like why would I
want to talk right unless they know who's somebody or
they themselves have that diagnosis. So hypertension, high cholesterol, these
are terms that people are very familiar with. They themselves
(09:33):
or they know somebody who you know has a prescription
for this condition. And so that is how I typically
will talk about cardiovastro disease, and then we talk about
what changes are necessary. So you know, obviously, in my
clinical practice and urgent care, we might not be making
changes right then and there, but if they ask me
specific questions, certainly I can provide some guidance. When I
(09:56):
educate on social media, which is primarily where I really
love to get into the kitchen and share tips and recipes,
I am talking about food in a very approachable way.
It's not about this restrictive morality sometimes that people are
giving to food, that this food is bad and you
(10:17):
should feel guilty, or one of the things that I'm
sure I've used in my past. But I no longer
feel this way is guilt free, Like there's none of
that here, right, It's all about enjoying your foods and
enjoying the foods that you and your family have known
for years, or recipes that may have been passed down
from generation generation in a way that can support your
crime disease prevention and live your best quality of life possible.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
And as you mentioned your work in social media, there's
so much information, and I've heard you use the term
food noise. How do you work within this noisy environment
and try to attract or work with your audience to
give them evidence based information.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, the food noise is a term that I like
to use because it is like that, like the feeling
of walking into a crowded restaurant and having all that
chatter is how I feel social media can sometimes be.
And I love I love social media because this is
a free tool that reaches a lot of people quickly,
and so I think it's a really great platform for
(11:19):
practitioners to educate on. So what I like to do
is identify who I am and what my educational background is,
because I think that's important and not to say that
someone couldn't provide really high quality information without a physician
assistant degree, but on letting the viewer know that I
do have a background in medicine, I am able to
(11:40):
read studies and what I'm saying can be something that
can be trusted and brought to your practitioner to discuss
to see if it fits into your medical plan.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Right, So, say I have high blood pressure? Can you
tell me what are tips that I should know? What
are really specific things that you could tell me that
would help me that empower me to know how to
prepare a dish or what to think about if I'm
out in the real world that will help use again
culinary medicine principles.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Sure, and with the caveat of this is just something.
This is based on general information, right, This is not
based on whoever is listening to. This not a specific
recommendation for you. Okay, so take it with a grain
of salt, not literally. But let's talk about cardiovascular disease.
The thing about cardiovascular disease and some of those lifestyle
(12:30):
and dietary changes that we implement, they have much more
profound impacts on our overall wellness than just cardiovascular disease.
If we look at the huge predimed study, right, which
we talk about over and over in the CCMs program,
we can see that this eating style, or incorporating more
olive oil, legumes, nuts, more of what we would call
(12:53):
a Mediterranean diet type dietary intake could actually impact cognition,
our cognitive health. It could be helpful for diabetes management,
weight management, so many other things. So I think that
that's really important to think about is that when we
make these changes, they're not just going to affect one
disease process. Often they're really again profound and meaningful. The
(13:19):
first place that I would tell people to start is
in their kitchen, So just choosing to eat foods as
much as possible from their own kitchen that are mostly
on process. Again, it's not about what you're doing here
and there. So if you were to decide to have
a piece of birthday cake or something on the weekend
because you go to a party, who cares. But for
(13:40):
the most part, it's what you're doing every single day
consistently that's going to have the most meaningful change. So
I always tell people that it's unless you have an
immediate dangerous reaction to food and your practitioner said you
cannot eat food, it's about the changes that you're making
most of the time. So to give yourself a little grace,
have a little patients when you're making these changes, and
(14:02):
to understand that we live in the twenty twenties and
so there are things that are not always going to
align with what our goals are. And that's okay. Like
there's going to be days that are just outliers and
that's just what it is. So the first place I
would say is start with your home kitchen. We know
that foods that we get from packages or from restaurants,
they're very heavily salted, So that would be the first
(14:24):
thing I would say is consider sodium and salt intake.
And when we cook in our kitchen, we can really
control that, right, We can moderate the amount of salt
that we intake. Fluid follow salt, so we know that
the more salt we consume, the more water our body
is going to hang on too, because it likes a
good balance, and that that's more volume that our heart
(14:44):
that needs to pump around. And so that might be
a good starting place is just looking at that one
thing first, right Next, I really love I really do
love the USDA my plate model. I think it's such
a great visual representation of a balanced plate. And so
if you're just starting changes or a journey of eating
(15:06):
for cardiovascular disease. That might be a good place to
start because what it does is it gives you a
nice framework for incorporating more fruits and vegetables. And Harvard
actually has a great plate model that incorporates healthful fats,
So I really like that one because the USDA model
does not have that in it and reminds us about exercise.
The Harvard plate one reminds us about exercise as well.
(15:28):
And then to that end, healthful fats. And again this
is why I'm going to give you a lot of
tips here. Starting one thing at a time is also
very important. So it's okay to master one thing and
then move on to a next a couple months later.
It's not all of these things right now, today or tomorrow.
On the note of healthful fats. Incorporating more of those
(15:50):
unsaturated fats, so our fats from our olive oil, our greens,
are nuts, are fish like salmon, those omega three fatty acids,
more of those fats, less of the fats from packaged items,
saturated fat from butter or red meat. We know, we
know the studies will tell us that replacing saturated fats
(16:12):
in our diets with unsaturated fats. It's clear that there
is benefit in cardiovascular disease, it's not ambiguous. So I
think that's also a great tip for people. And the
next thing is being really mindful of process versus ultra
processed foods. And I always give the example of corn, okay,
because corn is something I think we can all visualize
right now at ear of corn. An ear of corn
(16:34):
looks like corn when we pick it off the stem, Okay,
So that's really an unprocessed foods. We want the majority
of our foods, what we're doing most of the time,
to be unprocessed foods if we can do it, if
we have access to it right obviously, if it's in season.
All those things are things to consider processed foods. And
over my later career, I've changed my thought on processed foods.
(16:57):
Processed foods would be taking that ear of corn and
taking it off the cob and freezing it. Right to me,
there's a process involved in that, So that would technically
be a processed food, and that's a perfectly fine processed food, right.
Get your frozen foods their shelf stable. You know it's
undergone a process that makes it easier and more convenient
for me too, usually cheaper for me to stock in
(17:19):
my kitchen or is it canned right in a saltwater brine,
So that would be a processed foods. Most of the
foods that we consume, my husband and I during the
week because we're busy, we work full time, they fall
in that category, right, they're like ready to go foods
and limit if at all possible, kind of going back
to the birthday cake at a party, right, who cares
if that happens once in a while in my opinion
(17:40):
for me, but limiting those ultra processed foods. So that
would be like the corn tortilla chip. It's no longer
recognizable as corn, right, and so it might be ultra
it might be considered ultra process. This might be different
than somebody who's actually milled the corn and made flour
and made like a homemadetilla. That's a different thing I'm
(18:02):
talking about that you go, you grab a package from
the store, you don't know what the ingredients are, and
it's a more heavily processed item. And then of course
we're getting that salt that I talked about before, maybe
more saturated fats all of these things. So I would
say that if we could just think about our food
in a balanced way, as much unprocessed or minimally processed
(18:24):
as possible, replacing some of those those saturated fats with
unsaturated fats, and being mindful of sodium. I think those
are four like excellent, excellent places to start, and it's enough.
I think once people start to implement those things, they're
going to say, oh my gosh, this is.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
A lot, Jessica. I love the visuals that you've given me.
As again, if I were coming to you as somebody
with high blood pressure of what should I put on
my plate? What may I choose to put on my plate?
As many people say, the word should just has this connotation,
so giving people choice and agency over what's on there.
(19:01):
I do want to emphasize that the Canadian government food
plate does a really great job as well, and recently
they transition to actually showing pictures of food rather than
kind of blocked out images. So that's a really great
resource and it goes right along with what Jessica has
told us today. So if you have not looked at that, Jessica,
that may be something for you to consider.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I love that because most of us do not eat
in a deconstructed way, right, It's kind of like this
more of a meal when we put together food on
our plate. So I like that. I will definitely look
it up.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, and may I tell people maybe you choose see
Toddler style with everything separated, but most of us put
all those ingredients together, even if it's making an incredibly
nutrient dense, delicious smoothie to eating a salad or other meal.
We do have a byte episode that's about the plate
and what to consider to put on your plate, so
you can reference to that, and specifically we've been talking
(19:56):
about again what to put on the plate. Yet it
is much more more than the food. So take us
to there's this potential scenario of someone with high blood
pressure or hypertension. What else do you recommend? You've seen
me we're talking about food choices, but what else?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I do love that you prompted me for this, because
you're right, food is so impactful. But what else can
we be doing again to be our own advocates and
to promote our own wellness? So one thing I always
I will die on this hill. Sleep. Sleep is so
important and I think a lot of people discredit sleep, right,
It's we try to do as much as we can
throughout the day, and our sleep often is the thing
(20:35):
that gets compromised. But I know that if I see
a patient and they have high blood pressure or they're
put on high blood pressure medication, this is just an example,
and maybe they're not responding well to it, or maybe
they are also having weight gain. I see some other
characteristics in these patients. I always think about sleep and
I ask, you know, are you snoring? How much do
(20:56):
you sleep? How soundly do you sleep? When you wake up?
Do you feel right? All these things are very very
important because they can all contribute to cardiovascular disease. They
can all contribute to weight maintenance and weight loss. And
here's the thing. I will say this too. I will
this is another hill I'll die on. Weight does not
necessarily equal health, and that is a big That is
(21:18):
a big thing for patients, especially those who grew up
in my generation right when weight was so focused on.
It was one of those paramount things above all else,
versus looking on the inside and you know, getting blood
work checked. So but it you know, super important to consider,
but not the end all be all, And so I
do often talk about that too with patients. But yes,
(21:39):
sleep can ripple into all aspects of our life. And
you find sometimes people who have sleep apnea and then
it gets corrected. How all of a sudden, all of
these things can be their blood pressure, their weight, their mood,
all of these things. They're focused at work and they're
you know, as astonished as we are as practice titioners.
(22:01):
And then the other thing is exercise. We are in
an era where we're looking at high intensity hit exercise
and these gyms where they're flipping these tires and like,
oh my gosh, that's so impressive, you know, And I
do I like that kind of exercise, you know, I
find it fun. But I don't think that that is
(22:24):
what we need to be promoting to everyone. And I
think we need to help patients understand that that is
not the exercise that they have to do. Exercise does
not need to be intent. You can go for a walk,
particularly after a meal, which we know can be great
for our blood glucose levels, digestion, mental health, just to
get out in nature. You know, a nice brisk walk
(22:47):
can be enough consistently to get that recommended amount of exercise.
And if walking is not your thing you have joint pain,
water aerobics or something low impact can be a great alternative.
So I think that's a common misconception that patients have.
Is it because they're not intensely working out and sweating
and they're not you know, someone's like yelling at them
(23:07):
to do in another mile that it's not meaningful or effective,
and that's just not the case.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
I like to add dance to that, Yes, I know that, Yes, yes, yeah.
Sometimes I find that reminding people of what movement they
might have enjoyed, maybe a few decades ago, can help
with that as well. So yeah, yeah, I'm cringing.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
We do a lot of dancing. Go, we do a
lot of dancing. We foster children here at our home,
and so we have a lot of Disney dance parties. Okay,
So in case those with children, just put on YouTube
or some Disney something and your kids. You know, it's
a great way to get your kids involved too, right,
And how much more fun can you have? I can't
have much more fun than that.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
One question I have. I want to go back to
those nachos you were talking about earlier, because I'm excited
by them, and there's often the sense that that would
be on the kind of birthday cake side of the list, right,
like ooh, that's.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah, it's once in a wild food right, ones in
a wild foods.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Right, Yes, But this emphasis on using nachos, which is
something that we love. How can you paint the visual
of how I can make my nachos and it be
really had these nutritional, dense, delicious components.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Absolutely, so I think circling back, so there's layers to nachos,
which I think is just fantastic, right because it allows
the opportunity to get creative and add what we want
to top our nachos. So if we were to use
a corn tortilla that was actually made from masa, right,
which is just ground corn, and so we sourced something
like that which is readily available. You can find corn
(24:45):
tortillas almost anywhere now and they freeze really well, and
so then you could just bake those. So I typically
will get corn tortillas, chop them into fours, bake them
on a baking sheet easily. See, you can season them right,
even start to get a little creative season the cuman
and paprika, and there's some layers to flavor there. But
also by making your own chips. We're modifying sodium, right,
(25:06):
we're adding flavor, we're modifying sodium. We're getting corn is
a whole technically a vegetable, an a whole grain. So
there you go with that, and then you can add
what you want there. So my next layer for my
nachos is protein. So are you adding an animal based protein?
Are you adding a plant based protein? So you can
add you know, go get that five dollars rotastrie chicken
if you're busy, and pull the chicken right off of it. Right.
(25:28):
No one's saying that you need to slow cooked chicken
and spend lots of money because you know, grocers are expensive. No,
go get the rotisserie chicken. In my opinion, it's kind
of a nice shortcut and shred that on top or
a can of beans, rinse out the brine, put your
beans on top or both, right. Often sometimes there's a
place for both if you like both. And then your veggies.
(25:50):
Salsa is one of those foods in the kitchen that
I find to be such a great flavor bomb, so convenient,
it's purely veg and so you put that on top
to your avocado or guacamole and then instead of sour cream,
I swap in plain yogurt because I'm reducing my saturated
(26:11):
fat intake, increasing protein and probiotics. So that's a great
topping there. And if you wanted to add cheese, if
you you know, if your body tolerates dairy, a little
bit of sprinkle of cheese on top, I think is
also a great option. And then listen, you think about
all your semi process or like a little bit minimally
processed foods, your pickled halapanos, your banana peppers, all of
(26:33):
your hot sauce, like all of those amazing things that
are veggies. Maybe they're coming from a jar, and just
making sure that you're being mindful of the brine that
can sometimes carry lots of salt. But that could be
a great dinner. And if you built everyone, if everyone
got a plate nachos, and you put all those ingredients
in the middle of the table. And for me, my
(26:53):
husband and I will grab most of the veggies, oh,
shredded lettuce, write fresh produce if you have access to it.
I forgot to mention that my husband and I will
choose a lot of veggies. We have a three and
a half year old foster child with us now, who
doesn't choose as many veggies, but she can see us
eating them and we're introducing them. And I think that's
super important when you have a family, is just reintroduction, reintroduction.
(27:15):
You know, a year ago she did any cucumbers. Today
she does because I just introduced them, you know, with
every meal. So that's very very important thought, as well
as just getting your kids involved in that kind of
building their own plate, getting curious, getting creative, and there
you go, there's a more heart friendly, healthy however you
want to put it, not your plate.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
I can absolutely see that plate, and hopefully this gives
an idea of it doesn't have to be complicated and cravable.
And I'm seeing that with this. I mean, you just
built up this plate that hopefully the listeners you're hearing
this and saying, ah, okay, that's doable, right. There's not
this crazy amount of steps or money that have to
(27:57):
be involved with it to give yourself that plant forward
eating and really move health in the direction. So I
really appreciate that visual and I am completely craving nachos now.
And we actually have an episode where we have a
recipe on a bean dip, so that would go right
along with these delicious nachos. Do you use lagomes or
how do you feel about lagomes overall?
Speaker 1 (28:19):
I well, you know, I certainly part of our culinary
medicine training is lagumes, lagume, and I can always when
I went for my training down to New Orleans, doctor Harlan,
one of the things that's stuck in my mind is
we love lagomes, right, he is all about lagumes that
entire team. You know, I grew up in an Italian household,
so lentils, beans were just part of the meal, like
(28:42):
even if it wasn't part of the meal originally, it
was part of the meal. We always had legumes, and
I think that there was such a cost effective, convenient
source of fiber and plant based protein. You know, ninety
five ish percent of people are not getting the recommended
amount of fiber, and I think fiber is one of
those nutrients that is often overlooked. Legumes so dense in fiber, right,
(29:05):
both soluble and insoluble fiber. So not only are we
having bow regularity with our fiber, we know that that
impacts cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. We know certain types
of fiber can feed beneficial gut flora, right, circling back
to replenishing our gut microbiome. So beans are I'm all
about the I'm all about the beans, right, Doctor Harlan said,
(29:26):
at best, I love lagomes.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Oh I love it. I even have that on a
T shirt that do you really?
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Okay, Well, I'll send you my address so I can,
I can, maybe you could share a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Just kidding, just kidding, sort of. Yes, this is so great.
So as we finish up, is there anything that you
didn't mention today or that you wish I'd asked you
that you want to share with our audience.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
You know, there's so much to talk about when it
comes to culinary medicine, and so I think what's important
is if you are, if you are a patient receiving
this information, understanding that there's so much out there and
it's important to choose one thing to focus on first,
right and talk with your seek professional help.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I tell everybody this, seek professional help, whether that be
a healthcare provider, a dietitian. Get help. Because there is
so much and there's so much nuance in this so
understanding how food can impact you is going to be
completely different than how food impacts your significant other in
the same household and your neighbor down the street, So
(30:35):
get help. I think this is important disclosure. And as
a practitioner, we're always learning and so something you know,
something that I didn't get a lot of in PA
school and most practitioners don't, is nutrition education as part
of our formal training. So we it's up to us
now to seek out resources like culinary medicine certification that
(30:59):
we both have, or an alternate education if you so choose,
to better empower and help our patients. I think, particularly
as we circle back to social media and what patients
are seeing, they're coming in with questions, they're seeing it.
You know, it's up to us to really help them
understand what is important to think about and what's probably
not so important to think about.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
There's two take home messages that I heard you say
today I just want to repeat as we finish up.
Number one is that it's not that one has to
eat one way if you have diabetes, and a different
way if you have obesb in a different way if
you have had a stroke. There are some nuances like
you mentioned, but there are so many broadstoke changes that
you really touched base on today, Jessica. That help all
(31:44):
of them, right, because one of the pieces is it
can get someone so confused that then people get paralyzed.
And as a reminder, and the other take home is
that if we can get people cooking at home, and
you said it, and I just want to re emphasize
it as we finish up, that is the biggest difference
because of what ingredients we're choosing and we're seeing those
(32:07):
ingredients rather than it being happening behind closed doors and
you're buying the packaged item. So I really appreciate so
many details and broad strokes that you gave us. How
do people reach you? How do they learn more about
the incredible work that you're doing.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Those are two great takeaways from today the Wellness kitchen
Essa dot com. So my primary focus now is public education.
So I'm speaking, I'm on social media, I'm contributing to
the media all over Philadelphia and the US. The Wellness
Kitchenessa dot com is kind of a hub for all
of those segments. If you want to watch them, you
can contact me or follow on social So if you
(32:44):
consume your news on TikTok or Instagram, like most of us.
You know, I hate to say it, we do now.
It's the Wellness Kitchenista is my tag. That's how you
can find me. Shoot me a message and I'm happy
to connect there.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Thank you so much, Jessica. It's truly been a pleasure
to share this time and space and to really hear
about your expertise.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Thank you, Thank you for having me. It's been fun.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
I hope you feel motivated by this episode. Please leave
us a rating and a review, and mention our show
to others who you think could use this information. That
could be your doctor, it could be somebody who works
in the food service industry who's interested in the health components.
It could be a friend that is working on their
health journey. If you want to hear more, please remember
to follow Culinary Medicine Recipe on your favorite podcast listening platform.
(33:30):
Until next time, Sandu and Bona Pettie. All content provided
or opinions expressed in this episode are for informational purposes
only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Please take advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional.
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