Heart-healthy diet for busy physicians

BY KATHY HAGOOD

            Even though physicians are well versed in nutrition, balancing a heart-healthy, stress-buffering diet with a busy schedule is a challenge. But it can be done.
            Meal planning and paying attention to what you eat is key, as is limiting caffeine and drinking plenty of water, nutritionists say. Other lifestyle choices, including getting enough sleep and exercise, play a role in maintaining a heart-healthy diet as well because they reduce food cravings.
            Doctors should look at the week ahead and purchase healthy foods, including nutritious snacks, to keep on hand, said Carol Albanesi, RD, LD, MBA, who directs nutritional services at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine.
            “It’s much better to have a good breakfast bar in your lab coat in rather than grabbing a bag of chips between meals,” she said.
            Albanesi suggests reading bar labels to find those highest in protein and fiber and lowest in sugar content.
            Other healthy snacks that can be purchased in the cafeteria or brought from home include small containers of vegetables and hummus dip, a banana or apple, packets of nuts, whole-grain crackers and low-fat cheese, and a fat-free yogurt cup.
            When choosing foods at the cafeteria, the doctors’ private eating area or a local restaurant, doctors should be mindful of their choices and not rush eating, said Sally Clifton, MSH, RD, LD/N, a Shands Jacksonville nutritionist.
            “Too often I see physicians grab and go. They’re hungry and they choose high-fat foods, which they scarf down in five seconds,” she said.
            Lack of sleep contributes to cravings for high-fat and highly processed foods because it triggers the production of appetite stress hormones, Clifton said. Physicians, like everyone else, need at least seven or eight hours of sleep each night.
            Not getting enough sleep often leads to excess caffeine intake, another driver of poor eating habits, Albanesi said.
            “When you have more than one or two cups in the morning and then more coffee throughout the day and into the evening, it creates a host of problems,” she said.
            Physicians may use caffeine and high-sugar items like a doughnut and cake to get them going. But then they soon have an energy crash, and may opt for more caffeine and sugar and/or eat heavily and choose high-fat comfort foods for lunch and dinner.
            “Too much caffeine can cause low-level anxiety, which increases food cravings and makes it difficult to sleep,” said Albanesi, who weaned herself off of caffeine and saw a significant health benefit because of it.
            By contrast it’s essential to drink plenty of water, which contributes to a healthy metabolism and reduces food cravings. Doctors can carry bottled water with a cap or reusable containers with a cap, Clifton said.
            “We all need to drink water throughout the day. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty,” Clifton said.
            Fortunately, an occasional doughnut or bag of chips is fine to include in a heart-healthy diet.
            "Sometimes I will eat something sweet with my coffee, but I don’t make a habit of it,” Albanesi said.