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Four Chicagoland restaurants have taken a major step towards reducing heart disease in the South Asian community that has four times greater risk of dying from heart disease than the general population.
Over the past several months, South Asian restaurants – Curry Bowl, Mysore Woodlands, Gaylord Fine Indian Cuisine and Viceroy of India – on average, have reduced the sodium content in their food by 22.7 peercent since sodium is a major contributor to high blood pressure and, thus heart disease.
As part of a new initiative called South Asian Healthy Eating Benefits (SAHEB) by the South Asian Cardiovascular Center at the Advocate Heart Institute and the Chicago Department of Public Health, a team of registered dietitians trained chefs at all four restaurants to reduce sodium in their most popular food items without reducing the flavor.
“Knowing the high risk of heart disease in the South Asian community, we were very interested in offering our patrons a healthier option,” said Ritesh Rathod, general manager of Gaylord Fine Indian Cuisine. “We want to provide high quality menu items that are also healthy.”
With very simple techniques, the registered dietitian helped the chefs make changes without compromising on taste. While the taste did not change, what did change and change significantly was the food’s sodium output. Baseline analysis was done on the food before any changes were made.
After the training and implementation of change, secret shoppers helped in conducting analysis of the new, improved recipes. New food samples were sent to one of the world’s leaders in bio analytical analysis and got back results confirming there was a 22.7 percent reduction in sodium content.
“I’m highly competitive, so I really wanted to meet the goal,” said Ramesh Babu, owner of Mysore Woodlands. “I reminded my chefs weekly that we needed to reduce the salt in our top three selling items. I am so happy we met our goal. I have been in the restaurant business for many years and this is the first time someone has asked us to make a difference in the health of our community.”
Shoeb Sitafalwalla, medical director of the South Asian Cardiovascular Center at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, said that the success behind SAHEB exemplifies the power of partnerships. “In this case, a partnership between healthcare, government, and these vested businesses can uplift the health of an entire community,” he said.
“We’re really proud to make a difference and offer our customers more health conscious food,” said Rathod. “This is something we could never have done alone. The SAHEB team made the process easy for us. Thanks to their help, we now provide healthier food without sacrificing taste.”
Dr. Julie Morita, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health said that, “we know that a diet high in sodium can increase the risk of heart disease, and so it is important that consumers are cognizant of their intake, especially when it comes to processed and restaurant foods.
“These participating restaurants provide a healthy alternative for Chicagoans by reducing the amount of sodium in their meals without reducing the great flavors that they have come to expect.”
Each of the participating restaurants now has a SAHEB seal on the window boasting their accomplishment. Recruitment of additional South Asian restaurants is expected in the future.
The post Restaurants Step Up Bid To Reduce Heart Disease Among South Asians appeared first on News India Times.