Take Your Diet to the Mediterranean
Fish instead of fried chicken. Brown rice instead of a white-flour bap. A handful of nuts instead of crisps. Olive oil instead of margarine. And plenty of vegetables and fruit. Easy food swaps like these put the heart-healthy, life-extending power of the Mediterranean diet on your plate—simply and deliciously.
Just how much impact can diet have? A Mediterranean style of eating reduced heart disease risk by 28-30% in a large 2013 study from Spain. But you don’t have to live near the Mediterranean to get the benefits. In a 2013 study that tracked a diverse group of 6,229 American women and men, ages 44 to 84, for eight years, researchers found that a Mediterranean-style diet combined with regular exercise, a healthy weight, and not smoking protected against early heart disease, slowed the build-up of plaque in artery walls, and reduced risk for an early death by 80%.
The Power of Your Mediterranean Plate
It helps keep cholesterol levels healthy.
It enhances your body’s ability to absorb blood sugar (diabetes and prediabetes threaten your heart’s health).
It cools off damaging inflammation, an immune system response triggered when the body fights perceived intruders. Acute, or one-time, inflammation is helpful in fighting viruses and bacteria, but people who are overweight, consume high levels of refined foods, and lead a sedentary lifestyle have chronic, or ongoing, inflammation, which may lead to diabetes and liver and heart disease.
It helps arteries stay flexible and resist plaque build-ups.
Nutrients in this plan work as a team to produce these benefits. These include “good” monounsaturated fat from nuts and olive oil; beneficial omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish like salmon; and fibre, vitamins, minerals, and protective phytochemicals from whole grains and produce.
What you don’t eat is also important. Large amounts of refined carbohydrates [such as sweets and white bread] can cause blood sugar spikes, which prompt the body to store fat in a different way and can lead to obesity and diabetes. Simple first steps towards a Mediterranean diet could be: Add one healthy item to replace an unhealthy item. Stick with it for three weeks, then make two more changes. Slow and steady wins the race.
Extracts taken from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org