Healthy Heart South Asian Diet

This timely and carefully delineated book touches on a subject that could hardly be more topical or more useful. The risks of heart disease have been thoroughly documented for all segments of the population, and though this work deals with a very specific target group, the lessons to be gleaned from it are universal, and the popularity of the culinary styles of Southeast Asia guarantees its applicability to us all. In the first section of the book, Dr. Kaul examines the root causes of heart disease, both inherited and environmental; in a fashion that is both concise enough to hold the layman’s focus and detailed enough to allow all of us regardless of our scientific background (or lack thereof) to understand. She narrows the focus to South Asian Americans and shows how their genetic profile raises their susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Coupled with the increased availability of fatty foods and their own broadly increasing prosperity, special efforts are needed to maintain their cardiovascular health. She moves on into a very detailed yet succinct recipe” for a healthy heart that applies to all of us, regardless of our ethnic makeup. Dr. Kaul also profiles the dangers inherent in four popular cooking styles: Chinese, Mexican, Indian/Pakistani and Fast food. If you enjoy any or all of the above foods, she offers examples of both the healthiest and most dangerous items on the menu. For example, beans, rice and bread are all significant and healthy ingredients in Indian cooking: many- items, however, are prepared using clarified butter or coconut oil, which makes them unnecessarily high in saturated fats. With fast foods, avoid cheese sauce, sour cream and salad dressing. Go for a baked potato or a grilled chicken sandwich. Dr. Kaul makes it clear that there are healthy choices available no matter where you find yourself. This next section offers over 90 recipes, ranging from Cracked Wheat Porridge to Spinach Soup to Turkey Seekh Kababs and Kheer (a rice pudding). All are low in fat and cholesterol and many will significantly raise your fiber intake. These are not to be found in any other how to” books on heart disease, and represent the ‘hands on’ application of the lessons learned in the earlier chapters. There are dishes from all of the South Asian cultures, and reworkings of other, more familiar foods, more than enough to keep even a very ambitious cook busy for a year. Among other things, this book includes a risk profile questionnaire; detailed tables listing the Calories, Fat grams and Cholesterol of a wide variety of specific foods; similar breakdowns for dishes from fast food restaurants; lists of high fiber foods; and a Glossary that includes weights and measures, a number of south Asian ingredients and spices and the medical terminology pertinent to heart disease and diet. For anyone interested in further research, the reference section is a gold mine. Lalita Kaul, PhD, RD, LD, LN Dr. Kaul received her PhD from the UKaul, Lalita is the author of 'Healthy Heart South Asian Diet' with ISBN 9781596637566 and ISBN 1596637560.