Mediterranean Diet Lowers Risk of First Heart Attack
That first heart attack has got to be a shocker. You're at the bar watching the game, dipping Buffalo wings into blue cheese and - BAM!
You're on the floor grabbing your chest and yelling for your drunken buddies to call 911. If only you'd been popping olives instead of jalapeño poppers.
Because a new study shows the Mediterranean diet may lower your risk of having a cardiac event, especially that pesky first heart attack.
Ever wonder why those olive-skinned Mediterranean women - ugh, guys too - look so great? It's their diet. The Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish, has long been associated with good health.
And now, writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology, scientists say the closer you adhere to the Mediterranean diet, the lower your risk of having a heart attack; even a 40% reduced risk of a first cardiac event.
Using a special scale to rank units of compliance to the Mediterranean, data revealed with each "1-unit" increase in score, heart disease risk was decreased by 6%. Scientists point out the corresponding diet change isn't that "drastic."
So, use this info as a starting point. Cut out red meat one day and swap in fish, or cook with olive oil instead of canola oil; ease into it. It always seems weird to me to shock your body with an abrupt diet change.
Via Reuters.
3 Comments
Add Your Comment
Created / Updated: February 9, 2010
Interesting news. I have always thought the Mediterranean diet was probably the closest to an ideal diet that you can get: adequate fats, few refined carbs, and lots of veggies and fish. It's probably a good idea to try and eat as many Mediterranean foods as you can. I know that when I started eating more tuna and salmon and taking a fish oil supplement, my cholesterol numbers became awesome.
ReplyI believe this type of eating is probably one of the healthiest options. I don't think excluding whole food groups from our diet is good, such as "no carbs," so the Mediterranean-style eating seems very rounded and healthy to me.
ReplyI'd love to eat a more Mediterranean diet... but I don't like fish. Other than fried cod, which of course doesn't really count. I do occasionally like tuna steak, which doesn't tend to taste as "fishy" as other fish, but I can't stand salmon or shellfish in any incarnation. Anyone have suggestions for the least-fishy-tasting fish? I've managed to condition myself to like avocados, which I used to hate, but fish has been more difficult.
Reply