Can an App Help Your Heart Health?

Podcast Transcript

Announcer:

Welcome to Love Your Heart, brought to you by Cleveland Clinic's Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute. These podcasts will help you learn more about your heart, thoracic and vascular systems, ways to stay healthy and information about diseases and treatment options. Enjoy.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

Hello, my name is Natalie Salvatore. I'm a registered nurse at Cleveland Clinic in the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, and I'm so excited to be joined today by Julia Zumpano, a registered dietician/nutritionist who specializes in nutrition for heart health.

Julia Zumpano, RD:

Hi, Natalie. Thanks so much for having me today.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

So I wanted to talk today about heart healthy food options, staying on track. It's the middle of the year and getting warmer out, and I have to admit, I've kind of fallen off the track with my New Year's goal of eating healthier and really watching what I eat. I know we tend to think of summer having more nutritious food options now that more fruits and veggies are in season, but I've noticed that the last few cookouts I've gone to, there's definitely some not-so-healthy food options on the table. So what would you recommend of foods that we should stay away from and healthier alternatives?

Julia Zumpano, RD:

So I know it's cookout season and it's getting darker much later. So we're out and we're enjoying company with friends and family. So more socializing leads to more parties and then a lot more food options that you may not normally be filling into your day-to-day diet. So some of these ultra processed and processed foods might make their way into these cookouts or events such as hot dogs or processed meats like sausages or bratwursts and then potato chips and snack foods, or maybe potato salads or macaroni salads, some of those heavier food items that we're not necessarily preparing at home but purchasing. These foods can contain a lot of unhealthy fats, some added sugar and sodium.

So we know that all of those ingredients aren't necessarily healthy for the heart. So a lot of the fat in these products are saturated fats. Specifically animal-based products can have saturated fat, so processed meats and any mayonnaise or creamy-based salads could have a lot of that saturated fat. Even trans fat can be found in some of those products.

So saturated fat, trans fat have both been linked to increasing levels of LDL or bad cholesterol. They've also been linked to increasing risk of diabetes and obesity. And in addition, the sodium in these foods, these processed foods, can also lead to higher blood pressure, which can increase your risk of stroke over time. And also some of these foods can add sugar, where we might not think of sugar in a potato salad or a hot dog, but that hot dog bun might have sugar or the ketchup that you're putting on it or even the hot dog could be containing some sugar. So sugars are thrown into almost any food, and we know that high amounts of sugar can lead to elevated blood sugars, which can lead to diabetes and obesity and insulin resistance, and a lot of other health issues too.

So we really want to be cautious on what we're choosing when we're at these events, and at home for that matter in the summer. Things get busy and we want quick and easy meals, and sometimes that can lead to some not-so-healthy ingredients.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

That's really great advice of things to stay away from. I know we talk a lot about hidden sources of sodium and sugar and things like that. What are some better alternatives that we can choose from all those foods that you just listed?

Julia Zumpano, RD:

So I think it's important to do a little bit of planning ahead. So I think if you can try to have some fresh food available, if you can throw together a salad or a veggie tray as a side dish or fruit salad, those things are so readily available this time of year. It's just a matter of planning to have that ready.

Even some of the salad kits are really nice to have. You have to check the other ingredients in them, but it's nice to have a salad kit. And if the dressing is not ideal, you could just throw an oil and vinegar into a salad. That's nice and quick and easy. Veggie trays are great to grab and go and replace kind of that dip with a hummus.

For meats, if you can purchase some actual fresh meat like chicken breast or even some fresh lean ground beef to make a burger, or even the pre-made burgers with fresh ground beef tend to not be that are the unprocessed version. So burgers or chicken breast that might be even marinated, those are better choices. For meatless meals, you could do some marinated tofu on the grill. You could always grill veggies or corn.

So anything that you could do that could still have that quick and easy kind of convenience food, but it's still a whole food and it's minimally processed. It's okay to have something a little bit processed. Maybe there's a marinade included or a dressing included, but at least at the core of the food and the core of the meal is mainly whole food based. That would be ideal.

And even moving away from some of those dye colored heavily processed chips, maybe you could do some tortilla chips with some fresh salsa. That could be a nice alternative. Or some popcorn. So something that could at least have less of those processed ingredients would really be helpful.

There are fresh sausages available that don't have all of those preservatives or ingredients like the nitrates in them. So some fresh sausage, like a fresh chicken or turkey sausage could be another option as well. So there are a lot of great options. It just might take a little bit of planning ahead to think about what you want to serve and to be able to go to the grocery store or go to a store that will have those options.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

So I recently learned that Cleveland Clinic launched an app to help people keep track of what they eat, record all those nutrients. Can you tell us a little bit about the app and how it works and how it's going to keep us on a heart healthy path?

Julia Zumpano, RD:

I'm so excited to talk about this app. I had an integral role in creating the content for the app. It is called the Cleveland Clinic Diet App. We paired with FitNow, who really started the dietary tracking systems back in 2008. They offered one of the first apps available for tracking. So we've partnered with them to develop a state-of-the-art health-focused app. So it's not a weight loss app. It is really designed to improve overall health. The app goes through a series of questions when you sign up, and those questions will provide you a specific plan based on your answers.

So the two plans that we have available now are called the BodyGuard plan and the Heart Smart plan. The BodyGuard plan is a traditional plan that includes general tracking, general advice for overall health. It's a plan that is designed for overall health and wellness to decrease the amount of sugar intake and fat intake and overall inflammation in the body. And the Heart Smart plan is specific to cardiovascular disease risk and prevention. It was designed by Cleveland Clinic, our own health team, and it was really focused on overall heart health. So the plan is designed to boost cardiovascular wellbeing, whether you have diagnosed heart disease, have a family history, or you have some risk factors that you're concerned with.

The diet plan specifically limits things like saturated fat and sodium, trans fats and encourages foods that are rich in fiber, polyphenols and monounsaturated fats.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

So the use of diet and tracking apps is becoming more and more widespread. And I know that people who record their intake and track what they eat build some of those sustainable changes and habits. How does this app stand out? What features does it have, particularly for our heart healthy patients, that's going to really help keep them on track and achieve their heart healthy goals.

Julia Zumpano, RD:

Great question. So in addition to having those specific nutritional guidelines for heart health, it has easy to understand and empathetic content from our health and medical writers. It gives you content such as courses and mini articles and recipes on a daily basis. There's a food search and recommended food engine containing billions of food entries. It's AI-powered speech-to-text recognized voice logging. So this voice logging is key. It saves so much time. Instead of having to enter everything, you can just voice log it. There's also image logging, which is amazing. Image logging via a proprietary machine learning algorithm that detects individual food items from images of full meals. There's also a rapid barcode scanning and recognition software. So a lot of phenomenal features.

One thing I wanted to mention, Natalie, and you said it already, but people who log their dietary intake are more likely to lose weight. Actually, they'll lose double the amount of weight compared to those who don't log their food intake. So really important to have a tracking system, not to mention the fact that this also captures your exercise. It also encourages good sleep habits and overall health hygiene. So it's not just related to nutrition or weight loss. It's really a holistic approach and gives the consumer the ability to take ownership of their health.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

That sounds amazing. So this might be something that most people don't know, but one of the core values for Cleveland Clinic is innovation, and we also have a care priority for caring for our community. So basically, what that means is as an organization, we look to improve the health of our communities beyond just healthcare services. Like you said with the app, it's not just about nutrition, it's about the whole picture. And we really put a focus on education and creating those small and large changes to transform healthcare and lives everywhere.

So as you were describing this app and how it was created by Cleveland Clinic caregivers, it really goes to speak about our dedication to our patients, to the public, because I'm assuming you don't have to be a Cleveland Clinic patient to use this app.

Julia Zumpano, RD:

No, absolutely not. The Cleveland Clinic Diet app is available to anyone. There's actually a free seven-day trial, and you can purchase it on Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It averages about $10 a month. It's a year subscription. And again, I would start with that seven day trial and see if it works for you, and I'm sure it will.

Natalie Salvatore, RN:

Great. This definitely sounds like a way that we are helping transform the way people have access to care and track their progress and really achieve their heart healthy goals.

Julia Zumpano, RD:

I'm very excited for this opportunity for people to really take ownership in their health and learn along the way and meet their health goals, whatever they are, and using this great state-of-the-art app that is medically designed and scientifically based, all research-backed information here. So it's a great resource and hope you can try it soon.

Announcer:

Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed the podcast. We welcome your comments and feedback. Please contact us at heart@ccf.org. Like what you heard? Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or listen at clevelandclinic.org/loveyourheartpodcast.