Samuel A. Kojoglanian, MD, FACC, FSCAI

1. Leave the bread in the basket. White flour offers extra calories. Looks too good to pass? Scoop out the dough and eat the crust.
2. If your meal comes with a choice of soup or salad, choose the salad. The salad has less sodium and more potassium-rich veggies.
3. If you struggle with high blood pressure, ask the waiter to make your meal “low salt.”
4. At Italian restaurants, choose the tomato-based pasta sauces (marinara, pomodoro, arrabbiata, or diavolo) rather than alfredo, cream, pesto, or butter. You’ll save a good 300 calories.
5. At Chinese restaurants, toss the order of a meal like Chicken Chow Mein with an order of steamed broccoli, and lower the calories and sodium per bite.
6. At Mexican restaurants, avoid the tortilla chips. To cut more calories, get the black beans instead of refried beans. Lose the flour tortilla. Ask for a bowl with the burrito ingredients over brown rice.
7. At a burger joint, ask for your burger without the bun. Some places will wrap the burger in fresh lettuce. Not ready to go “bun-less?” Ask for whole-grain bun.
8. For lower sodium and fewer calories and saturated fat, grab the lunch-size portion at dinner or split an ordinary main course. Think of a buffet as an invitation to overeat; fill up at least half your plate with non-starchy veggies.
9. For a side, choose veggies over potatoes, pasta, or rice.
10. When eating breakfast, skip the pancakes and waffles and savor the veggie omelet. You’ll save big on calories, carbs and sugar!
11. Be good to yourself and lighten your pizza by ordering thin crust instead of deep-dish, pan or hand-tossed. Top with veggies, chicken or seafood instead of sausage, beef, bacon, salami or pepperoni.
12. Crazy for Latte? Switch from 2% milk to nonfat to save calories and saturated fat. Skip the whipped cream on your coffee drinks and you’ll save up to 100 calories.

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Samuel A. Kojoglanian, MD, FACC, FSCAI

We enjoyed our grandpa, who moved to the states in his 80’s and asked him, “Grandpa, what did you learn in English class today?” And he would say, “Run mouse, run. If you do not run, the cat will catch you!” We’d laugh with him, congratulating him on learning how to put simple sentences together.

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Samuel A. Kojoglanian, MD, FACC, FSCAI

1) Stretch: stretch your arms, legs and back. You can do it sitting or laying on your back. Raise your hands, lift your feet, and turn your neck (slowly). Stretching improves posture, increases blood flow to your extremities, relieves your neck and thoracic spine, and decreases tension.

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Samuel A. Kojoglanian, MD, FACC, FSCAI

Tony just got back from a cruise, had gained ten pounds, and wanted to let me know exactly what he ate on his trip. Though 40 years old, he’s had several stents placed in the past because of coronary artery disease.

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Samuel A. Kojoglanian, MD, FACC, FSCAI 

Have you ever felt the urge to say something, but didn’t know if you should speak up? Sometimes it’s wise to speak, and other times it’s prudent to be quiet. In my college years, I volunteered in the office of a great cardiologist, who was kind enough to allow an aspiring cardiologist to come into his office and learn from him.

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