__________________ SEAFORD _________________
your HEALTH body / mind / fitness
February 24, 2022
you eat You are whata difference
has in lowering cholesterol levels. Their protein And been shown to reduce triglyceride levels. boiled. they also make a delicious snack when
Enjoy a handful of plain walnuts or almonds, chop some up and sprinkle them on salads.
Superfoods that make
kind of antioxidant heart? polyphenol, which is another What’s the formula for a healthy cholesterol. health, that helps to lower LDL (bad) Many factors contribute to your heart and including exercising regularly, not smoking a bigeating healthy foods. But some foods pack it comes ger nutritional punch than others when some to a healthy heart. Yes, every year, there’s rage, but new food item out there that’s all the Spinach of heartof all vegetacertain superfoods remain staples nutritious most the Spinach is of your lutein (a healthy diet that should be a daily part bles, packed with B vitamins, folate, iron, calcium nutrition plan. your carotenoid) magnesium, potassium,salad with You probably have some of these in make a on your and fiber. And it’s so versatile; olive oil or diet already. Add in others and you’re it, steam it then add a little garlic and chicken way to a happy heart. chop and freeze it to mix in with pasta, dishes, soups and more.
Blueberries of High in antioxidants, blueberries are one foods you the most powerful disease-fighting vitamin C. can eat. They also contain fiber and topping They’re great plain, in a fruit salad, or your whole-grain cereal.
Oranges Everyone knows oranges are rich in vitamin C, but did you know they also contain potassium, flavofolate (folic acid), fiber, carotenoids and that noids? Carotenoids are a type of antioxidant in contain the red, orange, and yellow pigments of a type fruits and vegetables. Flavonoids are
$1.00
Swiss chard in a This vegetable (a cousin to beets) comes leaves. variety of stalk colors with beautiful green Swiss chard is rich in potassium and magnesium it also that helps control blood pressure. And heartcontains lutein and zeaxanthin, two of olive oil healthy antioxidants. Sauté with a bit pepper until wilted and season with herbs and for a tasty treat.
Edamame The fiber in these green soy beans is helpful
Black beans and kidney beans beans Like spinach, black beans and kidney contain B-complex vitamins, folate, magnesium, fatty calcium and fiber, plus niacin and omega-3 for extra acids. Add them to soups and salads flavor and heart-healthy nutrients.
Salmon and tuna The American Heart Association recomand mends eating fatty fish, such as salmon These fish albacore tuna, at least twice a week. fatty are abundant in polyunsaturated omega-3 for heart acids, which help reduce risk factors blood disease including high cholesterol, high fatty pressure and high triglycerides. Omega-3 that acids can also help decrease inflammation improve contributes to chronic disease, and they cognitive and behavioral function.
or
Oatmeal This heart-healthy grain is a smart breakfast up in the choice. Soluble fiber helps fill you includmorning, while oatmeal’s other nutrients, ing omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, potassium, your folate, niacin and calcium help protect choheart. Studies suggest that oats can lower cerlesterol levels and may even help prevent tain cancers.
Flaxseed huge This low-carb whole grain packs a B6, nutritional punch. Flaxseed is high in vitamin mangaphosphorus, copper, folate, magnesium, nese, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and phytonutrior ents such as lignans, which may help prevent Research forestall the onset of type 2 diabetes. the has also shown that flaxseed may decrease arrhythrisk of blood clots, stroke, and cardiac favormias. Grind up flaxseed and add it to your or ite heart-healthy hot or cold cereal, muffins bread.
Walnuts and almonds and If you’re counting carbs, walnuts your diet almonds are good additions to omega-3 because they contain fiber, along with fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, monounsatuphytosterrated and polyunsaturated fats and ols, which seem to decrease blood cholesterol.
HERALD Your Health Heart Health Inside
Vol. 70 No. 9
Gourmet cookie bakery opens
Seaford wrestlers shine on the mat
Page 4
Page 10
FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 2, 2022
Wantagh mom seeks second kidney donor they filter waste from the blood. “Having a chronic kidney disease for most of my life has “Disease knows no income, caused me to truly embrace life race or party affiliation,” said and all of the little g reat Helena McDermott, a 45-year-old moments,” McDermott said. Wantagh mother of two. “So we Although her journey has not have to love each other now.” been easy, she has had family to It’s a statement that McDer- lean on. In 2008, McDermott’s mott, a one-time kidney trans- younger sister, Maria Rinklin, plant patient, donated a has lived by. kidney via In January, transplant to she discovher sister at ered that she N e w Yo r k go online to http://helwas experiPresbyterian encing renal Hospital in phelena.com/ and https:// failure for a Manhattan. www.facebook.com/ second time. For the next HelpHelenaFindaKidney. The Wantagh 13 years, mother and McDer mott her family was able to are now seeking a kidney donor. enjoy her family life, spending McDermott is currently on time with now 10-year old Charthe New York kidney transplant lie and 7-year-old Corrine. list, but the state has the nation’s “We’ve had a wonderful 13 longest wait list. years, having beautiful babies At age 4, McDermott was and celebrating life,” Rinklin diagnosed with IgA mephropa- said. “I’m upset that I can’t do thy, a kidney disorder that more at this present time, but I occurs when the antibody immu- have absolutely no regrets about noglobulin A (IgA) builds up in the transplant, and I would do it the kidneys. Since then she has again in a heartbeat if I could.” suffered from high levels of creIn April 2021, McDermott atinine, a waste product made by came down with a fever and the muscles, she explained, began suffering from leg pain which indicates that the kidneys and fatigue. She was advised by are not functioning properly as Continued on page 3
By StEpHANiE BANAt newsroom@liherald.com
How to help
Neil Miller/Herald
A serene scene Blue skies were reflected in Wantagh’s Mill Pond Preserve last week.
Giving vets ‘a seat at the table’
Senator Brooks pushes to improve their services By KAtE NAlEpiNSKi knalepinski@liherald.com
There are over 800,000 veterans in New York state, but only 17 percent of them are accessing their earned state benefits, according to State Sen. John Brooks. It’s a problem that Brooks, a Democrat from Seaford and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs,
aims to correct. Last week, Brooks and State Assemblywoman Didi Barrett (D-Dutchess/Columbia) hosted a news conference in Albany to advocate for Senate Bill S7526A and Assembly Bill A8294A, curr e n t l y i n c o m m i t t e e. I f approved, the legislation would upgrade the state Division of Veterans Services to a cabinetlevel department headed by a commissioner. It would also establish a new Veterans Servic-
es Law to better serve veterans. “We’re gathered here today collectively to call for the elevation of this department, as we continue to put legislation together to expand the services and benefits to meet the needs of our veterans,” Brooks, a veteran himself, said at the news conference. The Division of Veterans Services was established over 75 Continued on page 12