Archive: Around Town

	A few years ago, my heart stopped functioning properly. A cardiac artery was blocked, and I felt some strange and scary symptoms. The blockage was relieved with a stent, and the hospital that installed it included a detailed lecture to all such patients. They don’t want to see us again. Heeding that information has kept me healthy, and I want to share what I’ve learned with everyone who’s had a heart attack or has the potential.

The questions I get tend to center on food. And why not? When you have to modify your diet and exercise to stay alive, diet is much more appealing to think about. But this week, I want to throw out my planned column and start with news about food.

First, about cheese. I’ve remarked that fat-free cheese melts no better than vinyl tiles, yet vegan or veggie cheese melts beautifully. That makes no more sense than a cash-strapped government mailing out millions of surprise checks. Actually, I meant to pick on just the dairy based fat-free cheeses. Many of them do behave strangely both in the pot and on the palate.

Then I tried Borden, and then Kraft, Fat Free Singles White American, from Lansing Market. Well, hello, cheese. Not only does it taste a bit like a dairy product, but it also melts perfectly. (The vegan cheeses, like Justin Bieber acolytes, melt much too enthusiastically.) The same cheese is also available in yellow, but it’s the same cheese with dye.

So far, I’ve tested it two ways. First, I enjoyed the first decent grilled cheese sandwich since becoming a heart patient. Here’s the drill: On a slice of Heidelberg Peasant Bread, fantastic stuff, again from Lansing Market, lay out the cheese, two slices deep. Top with another slice of bread. With a grilling or basting brush, lightly paint the outsides of the sandwich with extra-virgin olive oil and place the sandwich onto a dry, medium hot griddle or skillet (preferably cast iron). Turn to get both sides golden brown and enjoy with soup. (Campbell’s Tomato Soup’s saturated fat is zero!)

The second way was to see how the Fat Free Singles behaved on a cheeseburger. I fried a frozen Bubba Turkey Burger — you know where it came from; yes, this is looking like a Lansing Market infomercial — and dropped two slices of the cheese on it while the second side cooked. I used the chef’s trick of covering the burger for the final minutes to get a perfect melt. In slices of Peasant Bread with Hunt’s Catsup, yum. Well, no hearty beef taste, but this column is about living well without the sinful habits we’ve enjoyed all this time.

I also wanted salt on that burger, which I resisted. A reader reminded me that many heart patients are on low sodium diets. I’m one of the 60% whose blood pressure is unaffected by salt intake, but here’s a new reason to reduce your use:

Recent research has found a connection between salt and autoimmune diseases such as MS, RA, and type 1 diabetes. Our TH17 cells normally help repair injury and fight off pathogens. But TH17 cells overmultiply with a high-salt diet and, having nothing better to do, attack their host’s tissues.

So it appears that a low-salt diet may do more than lower blood pressure. I have RA (rheumatoid arthritis), so I’ll stop using the salt shaker and see what happens.

Every other week: Lots more on food, drugs, medical ID, how and why to keep moving, and recipes! Disclaimer: This stuff comes only from my own research and experience. I may seem to know what I’m talking about, but your doctor is the final authority.

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