by Dr. John Rumberger

Covering foods from Chinese, French, Mexican, and Greek...Don't leave home without it.

Chinese:

Look for: stir-fry or steamed dishes with lots of vegetables, steamed rice (brown if possible), poached fish, and hot and sour soups

Avoid: fatty spareribs, fried wontons, egg rolls, shrimp toast and fried rice

French:

Look for: steamed shellfish, roasted poultry, salad with dressing on the side, and sauces with a wine or tomato base. Avoid: high-fat sauces (bechamel, hollandaise, béarnaise), croissants, pate, and rich pastries.

Greek:

Look for: plaki (fish cooked with tomatoes, onions and garlic) and kabobs (broiled on a spit with vegetables). Avoid: dishes with large amounts of butter or oil and baklava.

Italian:

Look for: marinara, marsala, clam sauce and pasta primavera with vegetables and a small amount of oil. Simply prepared fish and chicken dishes are also good choices. Avoid: pasta stuffed with cheese or fatty meat, and dishes with greasy or butter sauces.

Japanese:

Look for: steamed rice, soba or udon noodles, yaki soba (stir-fried noodles), shumai (steamed dumplings), tofu, sukiyaki, kayaku goban (vegetables and rice). Avoid: shrimp or vegetable tempura, chicken katsu, tonkatsu (fried pork), shrimp agemono and fried tofu.

Mexican:

Look for: fish, shrimp, and chicken with salsa made of tomato, chilies and onion. Order corn or flour tortillas as long as they are not deep fat fried. Avoid: dishes with large amounts of cheese, sour cream, guacamole and refried beans cooked in lard.

Americans eat out now more than ever and this is likely not to change. Here are some tips for eating out:

• Don't skip a meal on the day you are going out to eat.
• Eat a light snack (e.g. an apple, an orange, or a slice of low fat cheese) an hour or so before the meal thus avoiding overeating.
• Choose a restaurant that offers a variety of food including low fat options.
• Order more plant based foods - pick salads and desserts that emphasize fruits or vegetables; look for whole-grain pasta, bread, rice, and cereal.
• Order baked, not fried; grilled, not greasy.
• Ask about substitutions of lower fat, lower carbohydrate food as side dishes.
• Taste your food before adding salt, butter, sauces, or dressings.
• Order dressings on the side of your salads.
• Substitute healthier condiments such as mustard for mayonnaise, or pepper or lemon juice instead of salt.
• Resist the desire to "supersize" your meals.
• Make the salad your first course with plenty of veggies and fruit.
• Eat slowly.
• Order food that requires work such as crab legs.
• Order water, sparkling water or mineral water with a twist of lemon - it's filling and has no calories (most diets insist on at least 8 glasses of water per day for a reason!)
• Finish the main dish before you think about ordering dessert.
• For dessert consider lower-fat, lower-calorie options such as fresh fruit, angel food cake or sherbet.

About The Author
Dr. John Rumberger

I have dedicated my life to studying the heart and blood that pumps throughout the human body. I have spent much of the last thirty years doing research and spending valuable time with patients, trying to better understand the heart.

My experience in the field is extensive, and includes achieving my doctorate in 1976 (Bio-Engineering/ Fluid Dynamics/ Applied Mathematics) from The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, with a dissertation on A Non-Linear Model of Coronary Artery Blood Flow.

I then continued my education into my true love, medicine, when in 1978 I became a M.D. graduating from the School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Florida.

I became an Internist and then a Cardiologist. From my appointment as professor at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, to Medical Director at the HealthWISE Wellness Diagnostic Center in Ohio I have treated many patients with heart problems. Though each patient is unique, the heart in each of us works the same way.