YOUR FEEDBACK

HEART HELP

A month ago I had my cardiac event. I am a 54-year-old wife and mother. I am only a few pounds overweight, but my diet was pretty bad, to say the least. For Mother’s Day, my son bought me your new EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook. In the book, I noticed an item saying that EatingWell has a handy pocket calorie counter. Can you help me find it? I would love to keep track of what I am eating. This lifestyle switch is getting easier with such great recipes!

—Susan Babynchuk, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Editor’s reply: Two tools that will help are our new online calorie counter and menu planner on eatingwell.com. You can also order a pocket food diary to track daily calories and exercise.

HOLD THE MAYO?

I enjoyed “Can This Doctor Add Years to Your Life?” [May/June] but I do not understand Dr. Ades’s aversion to mayonnaise. The same paragraph that describes mayonnaise as high in saturated fat also recommends olive oil as heart-healthy, so I read the labels. A tablespoon of mayonnaise has 1.5 grams of saturated fat but a tablespoon of olive oil, at 2 grams, is actually higher. Given that, why is Dr. Ades averse to mayonnaise?

—Robert Cadranell, Bellevue, WA

Dr. Ades responds: While it’s true that olive oil and mayonnaise have similar amounts of saturated fat, 1.5 to 2 grams per tablespoon, olive oil is a more heart-healthy choice since it is rich in monounsaturated fat, the type that raises beneficial HDL blood lipids: 9 to 10 grams per tablespoons versus less than the 2 grams in ­mayonnaise. I also recommend avoiding mayonnaise because it’s too easy to slather it on, adding hundreds of extra calories.

SLEEP NUTS

After reading the very informative article by Dr. Rachel Johnson on insomnia, “Can’t Sleep?” [March/April], I noticed that one food source that is packed with serotonin, a neurotransmitter that can help induce relaxation, was not mentioned: walnuts. Is it true that a handful of these can help you get a good night’s sleep?

—Anne Randolph, Yellow Springs, OH

Dr. Johnson responds: Walnuts are a good source of melatonin, a hormone that governs the sleep cycle—and they also contain serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with a calming effect. But research has yet to be done to prove walnuts’ worth, if any, as a sleep-inducer.

Back to Letters