Lower Pressure Blog

With high blood pressure affecting around 70 million people in the U.S. and increasing the risk of two of the leading causes of death for Americans – heart disease and stroke – preventing or controlling blood pressure is an essential healthcare objective.

Labeled the “silent killer” due to often having no warning signs or symptoms, high blood pressure is a common and often dangerous condition.

What Does Magnesium Do?

Magnesium helps regulate hundreds of body systems, including blood pressure, blood sugar, and muscle and nerve function. We need magnesium to help blood vessels relax, and for energy production, bone development, and transporting calcium and potassium. Just like potassium, too much magnesium can be lost in urine due to diuretic use, leading to low magnesium levels.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that most older adults in the U.S. don’t get the proper amount of magnesium in their diets, although extreme magnesium deficiency is very rare. It’s best to get the mineral from food, especially dark, leafy green vegetables, unrefined grains, and legumes. The RDA of magnesium is 420 milligrams (mg) per day for men ages 50 and older; 320 mg/day for women ages 50 and older.

Too much magnesium from a supplement or from magnesium-containing drugs such as laxatives may cause diarrhea. There are no known adverse affects of magnesium intake from food.

Clinical Research on Magnesium and blood pressure?

“Until now, there’s been inconclusive evidence regarding the effect of magnesium supplements on blood pressure,” said Lindsy Kass, Senior Lecturer and registered nutritionist at the University of Hertfordshire. “So we conducted ameta-analyzis by analyzing data from twenty-two trials involving 1,173 people to assess the effect of magnesium on blood pressure.”

In the trials, the magnesium supplementation doses ranged from 120 to 973 mg with between 3 to 24 weeks of follow-up. Although not all individual trials showed significance in blood pressure reduction, by combining the trials, the overall data indicated that magnesium supplementation reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. With the best results observed at the higher dosages.

“The clinical significance in the reductions found from this meta-analysis may be important in helping to prevent hypertension and associated risks around cardiovascular disease,” said Lindsy. “And is worthy of future trials using solid methodology.”

Good Sources Of Magnesium for high blood pressure?

There are many foods rich with Magnesium and good for lowering blood pressure. Here is a partial list:

Kelp

Not exactly a staple in U.S. kitchens, but it should be, as it’s the king of sea veggies, and delivers 780 mg of Mg—no other food source comes close to that. You can replace beef or chicken stocks with kelp stock (made by adding a 5″ strip of kelp per quart of liquid) in 10 minutes. Once cooked, you can cut up the strips and place them in the soup. I’ve had great success with Maine Sea Coast Vegetables.

Wheat germ

I have always enjoyed adding wheat germ to my salads, soups, and smoothies. It wasn’t until recently that I realized what an intense source of magnesium it is, providing 440 mg. In a cereal form, the amount drops to 420 mg, but that’s a full day’s supply for an adult male (and 100 mg more than an adult woman needs).

Buckwheat

This amazingly versatile fruit seed contains 229 mg of magnesium per serving. You can cook it and eat it as you would grits or porridge, you can add it to soups, or even make pancakes with it (which lowers its Mg level to about 25 mg). It’s gluten free and doesn’t lead to extreme spikes in blood sugar the way grains can.

Garbanzo beans

Delicious, easy to prepare, and nutritious—what more could we ask for? A cup of raw chickpeas delivers more than 230 mg of magnesium. Prepare them and blend the beans with some lemon juice and olive oil and you’ve got a great stress-busting hummus.

Spinach

I love my spinach. Whether it’s raw, creamed, cooked, slipped into eggs, in soups, or dozens of other dishes. While not high in Mg, its 88 mg is nutrient rich and delivers a great way to ease the stress of the day. Fresh is best, organically grown is even better. But frozen also does the trick.

Almonds and Cashews

These nuts are amazing at calming us down. A half-cup serving delivers 135 mg of magnesium! Almonds and cashews are a wonderful way (when organic and raw) to enrich a salad, create a surprising omelet, or enrich a sauce. And let’s face it, they’re great to snack on—again, organic is best. Whole Foods sells a blend of three Mg-rich nuts: almonds, cashews, and pistachios.

Cocoa

Until I discovered its importance as a source of magnesium-rich nutrients, I questioned my lifelong love of chocolate. Now that I know it delivers 420 mg per cup, I fully understand my quest. The key is dark cacao, not milk chocolate.

It has been found a cacao content of 80% percent delivers the best percentage, you can add it to desserts, make hot cocoa, or simply treat it as a dessert at the end of a meal. Everything in moderation, but this is one food that nourishes both the body and the soul.

Water

Let’s not forget the importance of Mg-rich water. It really is a vital part of your diet, but most people are totally unaware of the value of magnesium-rich water. It makes a huge difference in your body’s ability to refill its stores.

Black-Strap Molasses:This is such a versatile and tasty way to enhance your need for minerals. For those who love sugar in their coffee, seek to bring some zing to their cereal, or want to infuse their treats with good wholesome nutrition, try black-strap molasses. It’s a nutritional workhorse that delivers minerals and nutrients like few other foods.

So, you can see now, how essential is Magnesium for high blood pressure.

What Is Arjuna

In India, this herb has commanded well-deserved respect from the research community. The bark from the Arjuna tree has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda to support numerous health concerns. These include, prominently, cardiovascular health.

Today, research is backing up these ancient claims and cardiologists are beginning to incorporate Arjuna into their cardio-care protocols.

Perhaps what has made Arjuna so appealing is that numerous studies have attested to its safety when taken with other herbs. As of yet, no known interactions with western medications have been found.

In fact, in certain instances research has suggested that Arjuna supports western heart-related medications. It is also good at supporting heart health on its own. Arjuna may be an example of a scenario of the future, where western medicines and herbs work together for the benefit of the patient.

Cardio Vascular Health

Drugs.com states that 500 mg of Arjuna herb every eight hours can reduce angina or chest pain. It also increases exercise capacity in patients with cardiovascular diseases. In fact, it may be as effective isosorbide mononitrate, the most common drug used to treat angina.

An animal study published in the July 2000 edition of “Pharmacy and Pharmacology Communications” also indicates that Arjuna extracts may significantly reduce the serum cholesterol levels.

This, in turn, leads to increased absorption of cholesterol by the liver to make more bile acids. Although Arjuna has been used to treat heart disease since ancient times, it is best to consult a health care provider before using it to avoid complications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three adults has hypertension (or high blood pressure), which is a leading cause of stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure. Approximately 30% of cases may be attributable to a combination of obesity and hypertension, and the figure may be as high as 60% in men under age 45.

People who are overweight also are more likely to have hypertension. The most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) finds that nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of hypertension are in the South. West Virginia has the highest rate of 43.5%.

What is obesity?

Obesity is a medical condition that occurs when a person carries excess weight or body fat that might affect their health. A doctor will usually suggest that a person has obesity if they have a high body mass index.

Body mass index (BMI) is a tool that doctors use to assess if a person is at an appropriate weight for their age, sex, and height. The measurement combines height and weight.

A BMI between 25 and 29.9 indicates that a person is carrying excess weight. A BMI of 30 or over suggests that a person may have obesity.

The Framingham Heart Study, a famous study for 44 years, estimated that excess body weight (including overweight and obesity), accounted for approximately 26 percent of cases of hypertension in men and 28 percent in women. And for approximately 23 percent of cases of coronary heart disease in men and 15 percent in women.

Individuals with obesity have an increase in fatty tissue that increases their vascular resistance and in turn, increases the work the heart has to do to pump blood throughout the body.

As of 2022 more than 70% of Americans are now either obese or overweight by this measure. However, the statistics are particularly worrying. Almost 41.9% of adults are obese.

Hypertension facts

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. It is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

High blood pressure (HBP) means the pressure in your arteries is higher than it should be. Another name for high blood pressure is hypertension.

• Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States.
• About 75 million American adults (32%) have a high blood pressure—that’s 1 in every 3 adults.
• About 1 in 3 American adults has prehypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal—but not yet in the high blood pressure range.
• Only about half (54%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.
• High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for more than 410,000 Americans in 2014—that’s more than 1,100 deaths each day.
• High blood pressure costs the nation $48.6 billion each year. This total includes the cost of healthcare services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work.

Obesity and hypertension

According to the study “Mechanisms of obesity-induced hypertension,” published in March 2010, the correlation between Hypertension and Obesity is still yet to be fully explained. However, research suggests that there is particular importance on the impact that hypertension and obesity have on the sympathetic nervous system.

Additional fat tissue in the body needs oxygen and nutrients in order to live, which requires the blood vessels to circulate more blood to the fat tissue. This increases the workload of the heart because it must pump more blood through additional blood vessels.

More circulating blood also means more pressure on the artery walls. Higher pressure on the artery walls increases the blood pressure. In addition, extra weight can raise the heart rate and reduce the body’s ability to transport blood through the vessels.

How does obesity increase the risk of developing hypertension?

Being overweight and/or obese can cause high blood pressure in a variety of ways. When there is increased weight it takes more pressure to move the blood around the body. When the weight gain is in the abdominal area there is a greater risk for high blood pressure because this type of fat is more likely to cause the arteries to become thick and stiff.

When the blood vessels get stiff it is harder to push the blood through. When it gets hard to move blood around the body there is an increase in adrenaline. This will increase salt retention and further increase blood pressure.

The two keys to lowering obesity and blood pressure

The two major keys to lowering obesity and high blood pressure are diet and exercise. In losing weight not only will you lower your BMI into a healthy range, but at the same time, your blood pressure numbers will also decrease.

According to the national guidelines and recent research, losing weight can lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure – and potentially eliminate high blood pressure. For every 20 pounds you lose, you can drop systolic pressure 5-20 points. People who are considered prehypertension can benefit significantly by dropping 20 pounds.

Starting a weight loss program

It can really help to find a healthcare professional who has experience in helping people lose weight and make the lifestyle changes needed to keep the weight off. This could be a doctor, nurse, or other providers like a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Developing a relationship with this person will help improve your chances of long-term success, as they can help you figure out the best plan for you, monitor your process, and provide advice and support along the way.

Different approaches and plans work for different people, so it’s important to try not to get discouraged and to keep trying until you find something that works for you. Be careful about misinformation online and weight loss clinics with questionable ethics. Nothing out there is magic. Losing weight takes hard work, and keeping it off requires a plan that is sustainable long-term.

Setting your weight loss goals

It is important to set a realistic weight loss goal. Your first goal should be to avoid gaining more weight. Once you know your starting point, it is helpful to create milestones and health-related goals in order to start tracking your success.

If you are overweight or obese, losing 5 percent of your body weight should be considered a success. In the longer term, losing more than 15 percent of your body weight and staying at this weight is an extremely good result. However, keep in mind that even losing 5 percent of your body weight leads to important health benefits, so try not to get discouraged if you’re not able to lose more than this.

Diets for hypertension

There are many options for you in terms of diets targeted specifically towards hypertension. The best known ones are as follows:

• DASH Diet

DASH diet is a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life

• The Pritikin Diet

There is nothing extreme about the Pritikin Diet except that it is extremely healthy. In more than 100 studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals, the Pritikin Program of Diet and Exercise has been found to not only promote weight loss but also prevent and control hypertension and other health issues.

• The Nutritarian Diet

The nutritarian diet was created by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of the book Eat to Live, a Nutritarian is a person who bases their dietary decisions on those foods that have the most micronutrients per calorie.

Exercise: the second key

How are high blood pressure and exercise connected? Regular physical activity makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. If your heart can work less to pump, the force on your arteries decreases, lowering your blood pressure.

Becoming more active can lower your systolic blood pressure — the top number in a blood pressure reading — by an average of 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). That’s as good as some blood pressure medications. For some people, getting some exercise is enough to reduce the need for blood pressure medication.

If your blood pressure is at a desirable level — less than 120/80 mm Hg — exercise can help prevent it from rising as you age. Regular exercise also helps you maintain a healthy weight — another important way to control blood pressure.

To keep your blood pressure low, you need to keep exercising on a regular basis. It takes about one to three months for regular exercise to have an impact on your blood pressure. The benefits last only as long as you continue to exercise.

A final thought

For many of us, our weight is something that we can choose to control. It is not always an easy thing to do. Eating is very social. It surrounds almost every aspect of our lives. From family get-togethers, holidays, birthdays, food revolves around our lives.

But if we are serious about our health it warrants that we learn to say no to the foods that make us unhealthy and yes to those foods that promote health. Obesity does not have to be a medical condition that we accept.

One of the things I really love to do is cook. I love spending time in the kitchen whipping up some new culinary delights for my wife or friends. But the other truth is, I hate cooking for myself. So with my wife, on vacation for 10 days my time in the kitchen is very little.

Who really wants to spend time cooking for themselves. I am glad I love peanut butter and jelly. But here is a recipe that is quick, easy and delicious and if you are alone, will serve as wonderful leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 can (15-ounce) tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon each sugar, garlic powder, rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups (12 ounces) broken spaghetti
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Brown meat and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat (300 degrees in an electric skillet.) Drain fat.

2. Stir in water, tomato sauce, and spices; bring to a boil.

3. Add spaghetti, cover pan, and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.

4. When spaghetti is tender, top with grated cheese.

5. Refrigerate leftovers within 2-3 hours.

We collected dozens of great heart healthy recipes for you – Here they are…

For me pot roast is one of those amazing comfort foods. Slow-cooked for hours to perfection with a lot of succulent vegetables. The meat just shreds with a fork it is so tender and then there is the rich brown gravy.

Now for me, I also like to make a small side of mash potatoes. I scoop of mash potatoes with the pot roast served on top. This makes a great family dinner and you will have great leftovers the next day. The great thing is you can put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and go about your day. And then later return to an amazing meal.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck pot roast
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 small onions, cut into wedges
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 (9-ounce) package frozen Italian green beans

Instructions:

1. Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 1-inch pieces. Place meat in a 3-1/2- to 4-1/2-quart slow cooker. Add squash, onions, and garlic. Stir in beef broth, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, pepper, and allspice.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. If using a low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. In a small bowl, combine cold water and cornstarch. Stir cornstarch mixture and green beans into mixture in the slow cooker. Cover and cook about 15 minutes more or until thickened. Makes 6 (1 1/3-cup) servings.

We collected dozens of great heart healthy recipes for you – Here they are…

Dr. Cynthia, MD

Dr. Cynthia, one of the top doctors in Los Angeles, is a Harvard-trained* holistic cardiologist who practices with her heart. She helps replace stress, fear, and anxiety in patients by instilling a sense of inner calm and peace. She educates and inspires clients to take proactive steps toward health and healing. Her team has helped thousands of people transform their lives through the ways they think, feel, and act.

Naturopathic cardiologist Dr. Cynthia has known that she would serve this calling since the age of five, after accompanying her physician mother to the medical clinic in their home country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. There, she witnessed the pure hands-on art of healing, free from the modern-day challenges of drugs, bureaucracy, and the threat of malpractice.

This experience laid dormant deep within her as she navigated her American life, completed her modern medical training at Harvard Medical School, and subsequently began practicing Western medicine. It wasn’t until the opening of her own wellness center three years ago—where she guided her patients to experience tremendous improvement in their health and well-being through integrative lifestyle practices that focused on weight loss, nutrition, fitness, and spiritual practices—that those early childhood memories of the art of self-directed healing were reawakened.

She is often described as one of the best Los Angeles heart specialists, Dr. Cynthia is a holistic cardiologist and functional medicine doctor who listens to her patients, asking questions about your lifestyle, environmental exposures, and genetic influences that may cause poor health. She takes into account every risk factor including cholesterol levels, genetic risk for heart disease, even past heart failure.

Dr. Cynthias Education:

• Harvard-trained cardiologist, as noted by Providence, St. Joseph Medical Center Hospital.
• University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine – MD degree
• Beth Israel Hospital – Internal Medicine training
• Massachusetts General Hospital – research fellow
• Brigham & Women’s Hospital – Cardiology fellowship

Dr. Cynthia is also the author of the amazing book: Your Vibrant Heart: Restoring Health, Strength, and Spirit From The Body’s Core.

In Your Vibrant Heart, you will discover:

• How to recognize warning symptoms and your risk of heart disease
• Strategies to improve your health, nutritional status and detoxify your body
• Tips to gain physical strength and improve cardiovascular endurance
• Steps to achieve mental clarity and spiritual enlightenment
• Keys to allow abundance, health, wealth, and wisdom into your life
• How to harness positive affirmations
• How to achieve heightened energy and increased creativity

Life is a gift, and good health and a good heart should be our most prized possessions. Yet many people fail to treasure their health and their hearts until those blessings are gone. In Your Vibrant Heart, acclaimed cardiologist Dr. Cynthia Thaik explores the dynamic growth and healing processes of our ever-evolving hearts. Forging the missing links between Eastern and Western medicine, Dr. Cynthia covers the wisdom of conventional practices and beyond, unearthing a mind-body connection that takes us to the edge of what we thought we knew and placing the power of healing back in the hands of patients.

Available At Amazon

Read more on www.DrCynthia.com

Summer is almost here. The warmer weather is great for lowering high blood pressure, especially after a long winter.  Not only can a bit of sun help refill your blood pressure lowering vitamin D supply, the heat that comes with summer will also improve your blood pressure.

Does hot weather raises blood pressure?

One report suggests that blood pressure should be more closely monitored during hot weather. But also that anti-hypertensive medication should not be reduced during hot-weather months. It seems this is a common practice in countries with hotter climates, although it is not recommended in any guidelines.

According to Mayo Clinic, numerous studies have demonstrated that blood pressure generally tends to be lower in the summer and higher in the winter.  The reason for the seasonal blood pressure change, explains Doctor Sheldon G. Sheps of Mayo Clinic, is that cold temperature narrows the body’s blood vessels requiring more pressure to force blood through narrowed veins and arteries.

Such seasonal blood pressure changes evidenced in the studies were related to either outdoor or indoor temperatures and they did not – until now – examine the link between high blood pressure and personal-level environmental temperature (PET).  Meaning, the temperature of a person’s own environment and the number of daylight hours.

Dr. Pietro Amedeo Modesti, MD, Ph.D., of the University of Florence in Italy and colleagues, recently examined whether ambulatory BP monitoring is affected by personal-level environmental temperature or by seasonality, and they discovered a positive correlation.  

The research report was published in the American Heart Association Hypertension Journal this month and it explains that the study involved a group of 1897 patients referred to hypertension clinics and sent to undergo ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABP).  

ABP measures blood pressure at regular intervals throughout the day and night.  According to the research abstract, “predictors of 24-hour daytime and nighttime BP and of morning BP surge were investigated with a multivariate stepwise regression model, including age, sex, body mass index, antihypertensive treatment, office BP, ambulatory heart rate, PET, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, and daylight hours as independent variables.”

The Study Results

The study showed that with each increase of 1° C (1.8º F) at daytime, there was an average 0.14-mm Hg drop in one’s average daytime systolic blood pressure.

“With each 1-hour increase in daylight — a measure of seasonality — was associated with an increase in average nighttime systolic blood pressure by 0.63 mm Hg (95 percent CI 0.37 to 0.90), the researchers reported in the April issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.  “The association between 24-hour temperature and 24-hour systolic blood pressure was only among individuals older than 65.”

Following the results, the researchers indicated that health professionals should advise high blood pressure patients to take steps to better protect themselves against cold weather “such as reduced exposure to the cold and home heating may be especially effective in the elderly.”

Note, according to the report, the researchers acknowledged that the study was limited by the cross-sectional design and by the assessment of different individuals at various times of the year, which muddies the assessment of the relationship between air temperature and blood pressure.  

Furthermore,  while heat may cause a reduction in blood pressure, too much heat can be harmful so it’s advised to enjoy the heat with moderation and stay hydrated with lots of water, especially as summer kicks in.

Chicken has always been one of my favorite foods to eat. From the time I was a kid to the present day I love to eat chicken in all it various Epicurean delights. So this week I wanted to take a crack at making this tasty “Chicken Cutlet” recipe at home.

It is very simple to do and in less time that it takes a chicken to cross the road, you can have dinner on the table for your family. I like to serve this with a large garden salad on the side. You can also let the chicken cool and then slice it to put on top of your salad.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 4 small skinless, boneless chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total), pounded to 1/4″ thickness
• 8 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lemon, halved

Directions:

1. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl. Combine panko, Parmesan, and mustard powder in a third shallow bowl and season mixture with salt and pepper.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off any excess.

3. Transfer to bowl with beaten egg and turn to coat. Lift from bowl, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Coat with panko mixture, pressing to adhere.

4. Heat 6 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook cutlets, adding remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pan between batches, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

5. Transfer cutlets to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.

6. Serve with lemon.

We collected dozens of great heart healthy recipes for you – Here they are…

Dried mushrooms are the secret to this intensely-flavored mushroom-soy broth that is 100% vegan. Serve it with udon noodles topped with with stir-fried mushrooms and cabbage, scallions, and fried tofu.

Dried wood-ear mushrooms can be found in most Asian grocers. Dried morel mushrooms can be found at specialty grocers and many supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute porcini, chanterelle, or any other dried mushroom. Kombu is dried sea kelp and can be found in most Asian grocers. Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice-based wine that can be found in most Asian grocers. Fried tofu can be found packaged in the refrigerated section of most Asian grocers.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ounce dried wood-ear mushrooms (see note above)
• 1/2 ounce dried morel mushrooms (see note above)
• 4 ounces mixed small fresh mushrooms (shiitake, shimeji, oyster, and enoki are all good options), trimmed, stems and scraps reserved
• 8 scallions
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 small yellow onion, skin-on, split in half
• 1 (4-inch) piece of kombu (see note above)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin (see note above)
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 cup napa cabbage, cut into 3/4-inch strips
• 2 servings fresh or dried udon noodles
• 2 to 4 pieces fried tofu (see note above)

Instructions:

1. Combine wood-ear and morels mushrooms in a medium saucepan and cover with 1 1/2 quarts water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes while mushrooms rehydrate. Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add fresh mushroom scraps and stems, button 1-inch of scallions, garlic cloves, onion, and kombu to pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a sub-simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, rip out the tough central stems from the wood-ear mushrooms and discard. Slice wood-ears and morels into strips and transfer to a small bowl. Slice fresh mushrooms and add to bowl (if using enoki, reserve separately). Finely slice remaining scallion tops and set aside.

3. When broth is simmered, strain through a fine mesh strainer and return to pot, discarding solids. Add soy sauce and mirin and season to taste with salt. You should have about 1 quart of broth. Keep warm.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok or a 12-inch skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add mushrooms (except for enoki, if using) and stir-fry until lightly browned and completely tender, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and transfer to a plate. Add remaining tablespoon oil and heat until lightly smoking. Add cabbage and stir-fry until tender and charred in spots, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to plate with mushrooms.

5. Cook udon in boiling water according to package directions, adding fried tofu to the water as they cook to heat. Strain and divide noodles between two serving bowls. Pour hot broth over noodles. Top with chopped scallions, stir-fried mushrooms and cabbage, raw enoki (if using), and fried tofu. Serve immediately.

We collected dozens of great heart healthy recipes for you – Here they are…