Fruit Salad

with Lemon-Mint Yogurt Dressing

INGREDIENTS

Dressing

• 1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

• 1 tsp honey

• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Salad

• 1/2 cup cantaloupe balls

• 1/2 cup blackberries

• 1/2 cup raspberries

• 1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks, packed in their own juice, drained (fresh preferred)

• 4 sprigs of fresh mint (optional)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

2. In a medium bowl, gently stir together the salad ingredients except the mint, being careful not to crush the berries. Spoon onto small plates and drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with the mint sprigs if so desired.

our oxygen-enriched blood throughout the body to carry nutrients and life-sustaining cells…Our digestive system extracts the nutrients from our food that all our other systems need to sustain them...And controlling everything is our brain, sending and receiving messages all along your

Philosophers and quantum physicists make a point of saying “everything in the world is connected.” Spiritualists maintain “we are all one” and poets have been writing ICE was founded upon a vision of connection— linking the importance of patient-centered, compassionate care with the state-of-thene medical science today. ICE recognizes those connections and actively manages them to maintain the overall health of its patients.

All of the disciplines represented within ICE— Cardiovascular, Primary Care, Vein Care—are as interconnected as the systems of the body to provide a more complete approach to patient health. A patient being treated for vein disease may really need the help so they can walk—to strengthen their heart. A cardiovascular patient may be having weight—enter nutrition counseling from primary care. A routine check-up in one of our family care ofces may uncover a patient’s concerns about a sudden shortness of breath—which would prompt a visit with our cardiovascular team.

ICE provides the connections that help maintain a patient’s health, of course. But ICE is also deeply embedded within the community, connecting regularly with charities and citizens’ groups to keep the community healthy. Finally, ICE is tightly connected to the medical community itself; keeping tabs on the rising stars, the emerging trends, and the latest technologies to keep providing the superior level of care it has become known for.

The Cardiovascular Connection

Dr. Qamar founded ICE in 2009 with a single location and a nurse practitioner and cardiovascular as its principle discipline. The cardiovascular connection to overall health is obvious. The heart pumps blood. Blood travels arteries and veins throughout the body. Without the oxygen and nutrients borne along by the circulatory system, the body couldn’t function—practically, the very de nition of connectiveness.

But Dr. Qamar made another important connection at ICE when he put the two sides of heart health together. The physical side—the hard-working, pumping machine connected to arteries and veins. And the emotional side—the compassionate heart that helps put patients at ease and speed recovery. Cardiovascular health is much more than providing a high level of medical competence and the latest machines and procedures. It's an acknowledgement that a healthy heart is key to our overall physical and emotional wellbeing. That’s why patients who sometimes come for a seemingly non-heart related problem will have their entire cardiovascular system examined—healthy veins and arteries are critical to overall heart health. And  nally, why the staff at ICE from Dr. Qamar to the receptionist take great pride in providing a level of compassion and comfort that is so welcoming, many patients describe it as feeling more like a visit to an old friend than a doctor's ofce.

The Heart Brain

For centuries, the heart was considered to be the center of our thinking, feeling world. It was the source for all emotion, courage, and wisdom. Love was said to originate in the heart and countless sonnets were written to and about the fickle organ. Can it be that science is finally proving what centuries of poets and lovers have known all along?

In 1991, Dr. J. Andrew Armour introduced the idea of a “heart brain.” Dr. Armour, an early pioneer in neurocardiology, came to the rather startling conclusion after extensive research that the heart has its own, complex network of neurons, neuro-transmitters, proteins and support cells—similar to but separate from the brain. What’s more, in the book Neurocardiology edited by Dr. Armour and Dr. Ardell, the doctor draws even closer parallels between the brain and heart. The heart’s “little brain” has such an elaborate network—over 40,000 neurons strong—that it can act independently of the brain itself to “learn, remember, and even feel and sense.”

The Primary Care Connection

There is an undeniable connection between a healthy cardiovascular system and keeping it healthy through adequate nutrition, avoiding illness and disease, maintaining a healthy outlook and keeping to a schedule of regular check-ups with physicians trained to do all of that. ICE makes that connection real with its staff and facilities devoted exclusively Primary Care and Family Practice.

The original compassionate, patient-centered approach to care that ICE was founded upon applies perfectly to family practice. So, ICE established its family practice connection for patients as a complement to its cardiovascular services. ICE physicians and staff trained speci cally for primary care serve as the  rst line of defense for patients in need of regular checkups and medical services— everything ranging from common bumps and bruises to more serious ailments and illnesses.

A family practice is the ideal place to intervene and head off lifestyle habits that could be sabotaging overall health like smoking, poor eating and little to no exercise.