Taking care of your heart

THE Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSF), with the support of Unilever, is hosting a Mended Hearts meeting on 25 September as part of their heart awareness month initiative to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease in South Africa.

The Mended Hearts cooking demo, which is free and open to the public, will be on 25 September from 2pm to 4pm at the Life Entabeni conference room, 148 Mazisi Kunene Road, Glenwood.

This year the HSF is encouraging South Africans to beat the pressure and get tested by partnering with Clicks to offer free blood pressure tests at all Clicks clinics nationwide. Along with getting tested, the HSF is encouraging South Africans to lower their salt intake, as a high salt diet is a key contributor to high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is one of the leading causes for heart disease or stroke

One of the best ways to reduce your salt intake is to use less salt when cooking. It’s a common misconception that cooking with less salt means that your food will be tasteless or bland, but this simply isn’t true. Unilever's Chef Wendy will demonstrate how easy it is to prepare tasty meals that don’t contain a lot of salt. Two mouthwatering dishes, lower in salt will be prepared and explained by Chef Wendy, and all guests will be treated to a tasting session to sample the dishes.

Christelle Crickmore, HSF science and programme development manager, will talk about the nutritional aspects of the dishes prepared and answer any questions relating to salt and health.