RESEARCH PROJECT

ON

HEART FRIENDLY COOKING

BY

ESHAN KULSHRESHTH

NATIONAL COUNCIL ROLL NO. 082348

A research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements in the curriculum of 3rd year Hotel Management,
Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition

At

Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied

Nutrition, Kolkata.
 CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

Certified to be the bonafide work done by ESHAN KULSHRESHTH

(N.C Roll No: 082348) in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the
curriculum of the three years Bachelor’s degree course in Hospitality And
Hotel Administration from Institute of Hotel Management, Catering
Technology and Applied Nutrition, Kolkata.

_____________________

Signature
(Research Project Co-ordinator)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My sincere Gratitude and Thanks to-

Mr. D.Das, research Project in charge coordinator, IHMCTAN,

Kolkata

Mr. Bonophool Banerjee, Faculty Food Production, IHMCATAN,

Kolkata.

----- A constant Source of Inspiration and guidance.

Mr. Swaroop Saha, Faculty Food Production, IHMCATAN,

Kolkata

----- without whose help this Project would not have been
completed.

Thanks are due to Mr. Ranjeet Choudhary, Principal, for giving me

the opportunity to work on this project.

ESHAN KULSHRESHTH
 CONTENTS

Page No.

1. Introduction

2. Review Of Literature

3. Research Methodology

4. Data Analysis

5. Result and Discussion

6. Conclusion

7. Summary

8. Limitations

9. Bibliography
INTRODUCTION:

Heart is one of your body's most important organs. Essentially a

pump, the heart is a muscle made up of four chambers separated by
valves and divided into two halves. Each half contains one
chamber called an atrium and one called a ventricle. The atria
(plural for atrium) collect blood, and the ventricles contract to push
blood out of the heart. The right half of the heart pumps oxygen-
poor blood (blood that has a low amount of oxygen) to the lungs
where blood cells can obtain more oxygen. Then, the newly
oxygenated blood travels from the lungs into the left atrium and
the left ventricle. The left ventricle pumps the newly oxygen-rich
blood to the organs and tissues of the body. This oxygen provides
your body with energy and is essential to keep your body health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death across the world and a
major cause of illness such as stroke, poor circulation, and angina,
a symptom of coronary artery disease. Having a healthy is vital for
living a longer and fuller life. A poorly functioning heart leaves
you feeling tired and short of breath which limits the quality of our
life. The well known risk factors leading to heart disease are high
blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, being overweight, lack of
exercise, smoking, diabetes, aging and family history of heart
disease, many of these factors are related to are eating pattern an
lifestyle choices.
Heart diseases more likely to develop if you have high levels of
cholesterol in your blood specially low density lipoproteins (LDL
or Bad Cholesterol).Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is needed
by all our cells. Our liver packages cholesterol in LDL Particles
and feeds it into our blood. Cholesterol is removed from our blood
when packaged in high density lipoproteins (HDL or good
Cholesterol)
OBJECTIVE :

The food we eat plays an important Part in altering blood fats,

Heart disease is the most frequent cause of death in middle aged
man and the disease has reached epidemic proportions in many
parts of world.

The objective of this project is to discover how each

and every ingredients of our meal can contribute to the cholesterol
level in our blood and to focus on the ways to reduce the amount of
blood cholesterol. Based on this a heart friendly 12 course menu
could be prepared indicating the calorie count of each recipe.
NEED:

Communities where there is a high incidence of Heart Disease

frequently have a lot of cholesterol in their blood. And there is a
large amount of cholesterol in the artery walls of people who have
had a heart attack.

Therefore it is very necessary to know all the medical details to

understand how to plan a recipe which will be good for all the
family members.
SIGNIFICANCE:

Low Cholesterol cooking can be a ‘joy’ with some very easy

principles which are not only beneficial to heart but also to figure
and health.

Thus the project emphasizes on developing the art of preserving

the true and natural flavors of fresh food by planning such types of
menus.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :

The content of the project is based on various studies done in the

field of food nutrition & food Science. It is the result of several
years of cooking enforced for cholesterol lowering diet.

Desk research, which includes: books, internet, magazines and

journals was executed by following the procedure of circulating a
questionnaire which included varied number of questions targeted
for all type of people including hotelier entrepreneurs, general
public.
 Heart disease is the most frequent cause of death in the
middle aged men and the disease has reached epidemic proportions
in the UK and the other countries of the world. It is not surprising
that the men and women are concerned to do everything they can
to prevent the disorder .The food we eat can play an important part
in altering blood fats,but there are many factors which are
important. For example exercise is beneficial while smoking and
overweight are risk factors.
It is not necessary to know all the medical details to
understand how to cook meals which will be good for all the
family including the children, but some facts will help.

Communities where there is a high incidence of heart disease

frequently have a lot of cholesterol in there blood. And there is a
large amount of cholesterol in the artery walls of people who have
had a heart attack. For these two reasons medical authorities in
many countries believe that we should try to reduce the amount of
blood cholesterol. The food we eat can help to do this.

FOOD CHOLESTEROL
Animal foods like meat,milk,butter,hard cheese,cream and
especially offals and eggs contain some already made cholesterol
this is fatty substance which in moderation is essential for good
health. But the amount of cholesterol we eat has only a small effect
on the amount in the blood or body tissue because the body can
manufacture cholesterol for itself. The amount made depends on
several factors but mainly the fat we eat.
SATURATED FAT:-

These are found in animals annual foods butter,cream,milk and

hard cheese and also in coconut oil. Meats especially beef and
lamb contain high content of saturated fat. Eating saturated fats
enables the body to make more cholesterol than it needs, thus
raising the blood levels of cholesterol. The amount of saturated fat
we eat cannot be reduced to zero. But it can be cutt down and
partially replaced by poly unsaturated fats.

POLYUNSATURATED FATS:-
These are found principally in vegetarian foods and
oils like corn oil, sunflower seed oil, and safflower seed oil.
Margarines made with a high proportion of these oils do not
solidify in refrigerator . Not only do they not raise the blood
cholesterol.
But because it is very important to be slim and fats are
very high in energy in energy, it is better to eat only moderate
amount of fats.
Fish and fish oils are rich in polyunsaturated fats and
chicken and other poultry are richer than beef and lamb .Use soft
margarine that are clearly labeled high in polyunsaturates for
spreading on bread tossing vegetables for cooking.
THE CHOLESTEROL LOWERING EATING
PLAN:-

There is every reason why the whole family should follow this
eating plan- the sooner children learn good eating habits the better.

The overall aim is to reduce the amount of saturated fat and

cholesterol eaten replace some of this fat with polyunsaturated fat
and to be the correct weight for height.

Eat more chicken and fish, eat more vegetables and fruits,
more polyunsaturated margarine and corn or canola oil.

Eat no butter, cream, whole milk and animal cooking fats.

Eat less offles, beef, lamb and egg yolk.

Meat and fish:-

Remove all visible fat from the meat. Restrict meat eight servings
per weak. Choose pork in preference to lamb. Concentrate for fish
and poultry for other meals. Fish has very low oil content then
meat and is wonderful for anyone on cholesterol lowering diet.
Unfortunately cholesterol is abundant in all offal, liver, heart,
brains, kidneys and sweet breads. But liver and kidney are such
good iron foods either one may be eaten once a week.
DAIRY PRODUCE AND MARGARINE:-
Avoid butter and cream. Substitute skimmed milk for whole milk.
This can be bought from the milkman. Avoid non dairy coffee
creamers. Limit most cheese to 150 g per week. Skimmed milk
cheeses like cottage, home made curd cheese contain very little fat
and need to be restricted. Low fat yoghurt, natural and flavored is a
boon in every way.

Use the soft margarines that are clearly labeled “high in

polyunsaturates” for spreading on bread, tossing vegetables for
cooking. It may be sensible to limit the use of egg yolks, to four
per week, as these contain cholesterol. So don’t be strict about the
number of eggs eaten. Whited are beyond suspicion and can be
used freely. Make your own mayonnaise. Eliminate ice creams and
server sorbets.

OILS:-

Use the polyunsaturated oils. Sunflowers, canola, safflower and

corn oils are recommended. Olive neither raises nor lowers blood
cholesterol so it’s occasional use in mayonnaise and salad
dresseings is permissible. Avoid unspecified vegetable oils and
especially coconut oil or palm oil.

FRUITS,VEGETABLES AND NUTS:-

Fruits, vegetales are cholesterol free so eat plenty of these with a

clear conscience. Almost all nuts are good-walnut, hazelnut and
almonds rich in polyunsaturates. But avoid coconut and cashewnut.
RICE, PASTA,PULSES AND CEREALS:-

These foods are important source of vitamins , minerals and

proteins and may be eaten regularly.

COOKING:-
Use the oil mentioned alone for marinades & salad dressings & the
polysaturated margarines for frying, roasting, sauces, baking.
Yoghurt is very valuable for thickening soup and sauces, in salad
dressings or as a delicious accompaniment to puddings and
desserts. Curd cheese can be whipped up in the liquidizer or
pressed through a sieve, to replace cream or cream cheese.

Grilled meat rather than fry to encourage any fats to drip away
from the food. Grilling and barbecuing can give fish and meat a
delicious flavor, especially when the food has been marinated in
spicy sauce. By using a sauté pan with a lid, the food will cook
more gently and absorb less fat.

When roasting, stand the meat on rack in roasting tin, so the fats
run into the tin and can be drained off. If u like add a little stock or
water to the tin to keep the meat moist during cooking. Always
trim meat of excess fat before cooking.

Cooking in a brick is wonderful way of keeping in the flavor and

juices of meat and fish without adding fats. It is important to have
a heavy thick bottomed casserole for this, with an extremely well
fitting lid to keep in all the moisture and aroma, and prevent the
food from catching the bottom. But this method uses the minimum
fat and retains all essential nutrients and fresh flavor of the food.
Whenever possible use fresh stock, it really does make a difference
to dishes. Choose grilled meats and fish with vegetables or a salad
and a sorbet or fruit to follow. Avoid rich sauces and dressings and
hidden fats in pastries, cakes and gateaux. Drink coffee without
cream.

General Recommendations
• Balance calorie intake and physical activity to achieve or
maintain a healthy body weight. (Controlling weight, quitting
smoking, and exercising regularly are essential companions of
any diet program. Try to get at least 30 minutes, and preferably
60 - 90 minutes, of daily exercise.)
• Eat a diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits.
Vegetables and fruits that are deeply colored (such as spinach,
carrots, peaches, and berries) are especially recommended as
they have the highest micronutrient content.
• Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods. These include fruits,
vegetables, and legumes (beans). Good whole grain choices
include whole wheat, oats/oatmeal, rye, barley, brown rice,
buckwheat, bulgur, millet, and quinoa.
• Eat fish, especially oily fish, at least twice a week (about 8
ounces/week). Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines
are rich in the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Consumption of these fatty
acids is linked to reduced risk of sudden death and death from
coronary artery disease.
• Get at least 5 - 10% of daily calories from omega-6 fatty
acids, which are found in vegetable oils such as sunflower,
safflower, corn, and soybean as well as nuts and seeds.
• Limit daily intake of saturated fat (found mostly in animal
products) to less than 7% of total calories, trans fat (found in
hydrogenated fats, commercially baked products, and many fast
foods) to less than 1% of total calories, and cholesterol (found
 in eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, shellfish) to less
than 300 mg per day. Choose lean meats and vegetable
alternatives (such as soy). Select fat-free and low-fat dairy
products. Grill, bake, or broil fish, meat, and skinless poultry.
• Use little or no salt in your foods. Reduce or avoid processed
foods that are high in sodium (salt). Reducing salt can lower
blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart disease and heart
failure.
• Cut down on beverages and foods that contain added sugars
(corn syrups, sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltrose, dextrose,
concentrated fruit juice, honey).
• If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation. The AHA
recommends limiting alcohol to no more than 2 drinks per day
for men and 1 drink per day for women.
• People with existing heart disease should consider taking
omega-3 fatty acid supplements (850 - 1,000 mg/day of EPA
and DHA). For people with high triglyceride levels, higher
doses (2 - 4 g/day) may be appropriate. The AHA recommends
against taking antioxidant vitamin supplements (C, E, beta-
carotene) or folic acid supplements for prevention of heart
disease.

Women

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid eating fish

that is high in mercury content (shark, swordfish, mackerel, and
tile fish). Choose fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury
content and eat about 12 ounces/week. (The AHA recommends a
higher weekly fish amount for women than for men. However,
women of childbearing age should limit tuna to 6 ounces a week to
reduce the risks for mercury contamination.)
Children

Atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque in the arteries, begins in

childhood. It is important for children and adolescents to adopt a
heart-healthy diet to help prevent the development of heart disease
later in life. Children should eat foods that are low in saturated fat,
trans fat, and cholesterol. These foods include:

• Fruits and vegetables

• Whole grains
• Low-fat and nonfat dairy products
• Beans, fish, and lean meats

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance that is present in parts of the

body, including the nervous system, skin, muscle, liver, intestines,
and heart. It is made by the body and obtained from animal
products in the diet. Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver and is
needed for normal body functions, including the production of
hormones, bile acid, and vitamin D. Excessive cholesterol in the
blood contributes to atherosclerosis and subsequent heart disease.
The risk of developing heart disease or atherosclerosis increases as
the level of blood cholesterol increases.

A heart-healthy diet is one that limits saturated fat, trans fat and
dietary cholesterol while adding heart-healthy foods in an attempt
to lower your blood cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of heart
disease. According to the American Heart Association, saturated
fat should not exceed seven percent of your total calories, trans fat
should not exceed one percent and cholesterol should be less than
300 milligrams.
Always check with your health professional for personalized
advice.

If You Are Eating Your Saturated Your Dietary

 Cholesterol Intake
Fat Intake Should
Should be Less
Be No More Than
Than
2,000 calories 20 grams 300 milligrams
2,500 calories 28 grams 300 milligrams
2,800 calories 31 grams 300 milligrams

The strategy for minimizing your intake of these dietary

components is fairly straightforward. In general, you need to eat
lean and eat less (animal foods, that is).
• Saturated fat is most abundantly found in fatty cuts of meat
and in the skin on poultry, using leaner varieties of these foods
and eating less by limiting your servings to approximately six
ounces daily, will automatically reduce the saturated fat in your
diet.
• Dietary cholesterol is ONLY found in animal foods, keeping
a six-ounce, upper limit on the amount of meat and poultry you
eat daily will also harness the amount of dietary cholesterol you
eat.
• Trans fats are found in foods made with hydrogenated oils,
and show up in commercially-baked goods, stick margarine,
shortening and many fried foods.
While high-fat dairy foods such as whole milk, cheese, and many
premium ice creams can provide a substantial amount of saturated
fat as well as dietary cholesterol, using the low-fat and nonfat
versions of these foods will dramatically reduce both of these
dietary substances.
Foods from plant sources have negligible amounts of saturated fat
and ALL are free of dietary cholesterol. Have a field day with
plant-based grains, fruits and vegetables as long as you don't also
need to restrict your daily calories to manage your weight. While
palm, palm kernel, and coconut oils are the only foods from plant
sources that are extremely high in saturated fat, all the other
vegetable oils aren't. In fact, olive oil and canola oil are high in
heart-healthy omega-3s.
There really isn't a downside to consuming a heart-healthy diet.
While you need some unsaturated fat for a healthy diet, you don't
need to eat a morsel of saturated fat or trans fat. Your daily dietary
fat requirements can be easily met by enjoying foods that provide
predominately heart healthy unsaturated fat, such as olive, canola,
and soybean oils, nuts
The same good news holds true for dietary cholesterol. While
cholesterol is needed in your body to make important substances,
such as certain hormones and vitamin D, your body can make all
the cholesterol that it needs. You don't have to rely on your diet to
provide any cholesterol.
Trans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-
isomer (E-isomer) fatty acid(s). Because the term refers to the
configuration of a double carbon-carbon bond, trans fats may
be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated but never saturated.
Unsaturated fat is a fat molecule containing one or more double
bonds between the carbon atoms. Since the carbons are double-
bonded to each other, there are fewer bonds connected to
hydrogen, so there are fewer hydrogen atoms, hence
"unsaturated". Cis and trans are terms that refer to the arrangement
of chains of carbon atoms across the double bond. In
the cis arrangement, the chains are on the same side of the double
bond, resulting in a kink. In the trans arrangement, the chains are
on opposite sides of the double bond, and the chain is straight.
The process of hydrogenation adds hydrogen atoms to cis-
unsaturated fats, eliminating double bonds and making them into
partially or completelysaturated fats. However, partial
hydrogenation, if it is chemical rather than enzymatic, converts a
part of cis-isomers into trans-unsaturated fats instead of
hydrogenating them completely. Trans fats also occur naturally to
a limited extent: Vaccenyl and conjugated linoleyl (CLA)
containing trans fats occur naturally in trace amounts in meat and
dairy products from ruminants, although the latter also constitutes
a cis fat.
No trans fats are essential fatty acids; indeed, the consumption of
trans fats increases the risk of coronary heart disease by raising
levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and lowering levels of
"good" HDL cholesterol. Health authorities worldwide recommend
that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans
fats from partially hydrogenated oils are more harmful than
naturally occurring oils.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Cooking for heart’s sake

-by: Beth Cockburn- smith
2. An A-Z guide to safe and healthy eating
-by: Reader’s digest
3. www.wikipidea.com
 CONCLUSION

The conclusion that can be drawn after undertaking this project are
as follows:

The topic of the project is “HEART FRIENDLY COOKING”. The

survey done gave the clear relationship between the cooking habits
and the various heart diseases. We can say that each and every
ingredient of our meal can contribute in lowering the cholesterol
levels in our blood If we plan them carefully.

Most of the guest today are aware of the consequences of heart

diseases and feels the improper eating and cooking habits to be the
contributory factor of such diseases. Medical authorities are
analyzing various researches done in this field and conveying them
to menu planers to combat these diseases.

After interviewing few restaurant managers I reached to a

conclusion that heart friendly dining outlet can be a successful
business as the regular ones.
 SUMMARY

The project was targeted at different reputed dinning outlets across

the kolkata city. This research project mainly focuses on the results
of several years of cooking for the cause of planning cholesterol
lowering menu items.

The project was based on the study of functioning of different

outlets in the city to spread awareness against the deadly
cardiovascular diseases. Through the survey it was clear that the
heart friendly dinning outlets can also be as lucrative & successful
as the regular ones as today’s guest is highly concerned about these
diseases.

During the course of survey number of sourced were considered

and the information were collected. In the beginning it was a
challenge but after a while subject became totally absorbing. I
started by studying the medical side at the library and then tackled
the job of composing the ways to reduce the cholesterol levels in
our food.

After collecting the required data they were presented on a paper in

the form of graphs, pie charts, bar diagrams etc. A detailed analysis
was done after collection.
 DATA ANALYSIS

The following data has been collected on the basis of questionnaire

filled up by the staff mainly from kitchen department and the Food
and beverage service personnel. A questionnaire was provided to
forty staff members in different dining outlets across the kolkata.
Most of them were too happy as they got the opportunity to be the
part of this research project.

It has been found after doing this survey that there is and
increasing awareness among the staff as well as guest about the
pros and cons of heart diseases and various factors contributing to
it. High fat diet was the major one. Looking to it medical
authorities are helping their best in order to combat coronary
diseases. Most of the guests do suspect that they are eating a sort of
diet food while dining out. Moreover most of the chef’s said that
they consider nutritional data while planning the menu items.
More apart from this when it comes to various ingredients, cooking
mediums, methods many important conclusions could be drawn.
Polyunsaturated margarines were major cooking mediums
following which were canola oil and olive oil.

Salmon, sardines, trout, anchovies were frequent in use as they are

-rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Chicken and fish were frequently
consumed meat items. Grilling was seen as a popular method. And
very importantly most commonly sold dishes were that made out
of vegetables and salads.

Thus from the above survey conveyed we can drive one thing that
the staff is trying best in reducing the cholesterol level, fat content,
in various menu items. The menu is not only about the salads,
fruits and vegetables but it could be even chicken and fish which
are wonderfully nourishing food for anyone on a low cholesterol.