The Mediterranean Diet and Heart Disease

As the leading cause of death in the U.S., heart disease affects so many of us in one way or another. The correlation between The Mediterranean diet and Heart Disease is strong and today we are sharing ways to incorporate these heart healthy habits into your everyday life.

This post was originally shared here on The Domestic Dietitian in 2020, but has been updated and reposted.

The Leading Cause of Death

According to the American Heart Association – heart disease is still the LEADING cause of death among men and women in the US.

Did you know that 80% of all cardiac events (heart disease, stroke) can be prevented through diet, exercise and other healthy lifestyle activities.

Heart Disease and Women

Heart Disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women ever year.

This is more than all cancers combined, according to the American Heart Association.

So what can we do to decrease our risk for heart disease?

Take Charge of Your Heart Health

Since 80% of cardiac events can be prevented, it’s important to take charge of our heart health by learning the risks, signs and preventative measures we can take to reduce our risk.

Know Your Risk

72% of Americans don’t consider themselves at risk for heart disease, even thought it’s the Number 1 cause of death.

While we can’t do anything about the risk factors we can’t control, we can focus on making healthier lifestyle choices to reduce those risks we can manage.

Warning Signs of a Heart Attack and Stroke (in women)

The warning signs of a heart attack and stroke in women are similar but a little different than those in men. While men traditionally get chest pain or numbness in their arm, women are more likely to experience other symptoms first like jaw pain or nausea.

Heart Attack Signs –

• pressure, squeezing or pain in center of chest
• pain in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach
• shortness of breath
• breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadness

Stroke Signs –

• sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg
• confusion or trouble speaking
• sudden trouble seeing or blurred vision
• trouble with walking or dizziness
• severe headache with no known cause

Improve Your Lifestyle

A healthy diet, daily physical activity, and other lifestyle factors are the key to reducing risk of heart disease.

The Mediterranean Diet

Research has shown that adopting the principles of the Mediterranean Diet can reduce risk for heart disease and stroke. These include –

• lots of fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Check out these 90 Plant Based Recipes for some delicious ideas
• fiber rich whole grains
• fish/seafood twice a week
  • Tons of yummy ideas in this 55 Healthy Fish Recipes collection
• olive oil in place of butter
• nuts, seeds, and legumes
• reducing sodium to less than 1500 mg per day
• decreasing processed foods, added sugars, saturated fats and trans fats
• reducing red meat consumption

Daily Movement

The benefits of daily physical activity and exercise cannot be denied. However, that doesn’t mean you have to join a gym or start running. These are some of my Favorite At Home Workouts because we don’t have a gym membership.

Instead of calling it “exercise” I like to view it as daily movement. Celebrating how strong your body is or what it can do for you is a great way to enjoy this aspect of a healthy lifestyle.

Find something you enjoy and make it a group effort – take a hike with a friend, play tag with your family, go for a bike ride, join a new dance class, sign up for water aerobics or make an evening walk with your family part of your new routine.

How to Make Changes

Learning about heart disease is great but it also requires changes, which isn’t always easy.

The first step is always finding the time and commitment to make these changes. Many of us take care of our families and friends first and put ourselves and our own health on the back burner. We work, raise our kids, take everyone else to doctor appointments, grocery shop, help with school activities, volunteer for sport’s teams, join committees at work, etc but we don’t put our own health as a priority.

You aren’t going to be able to help anyone else if you aren’t in good health, so it’s time to invest in yourself.

Every week make small changes that will add up to a healthier you. Some weekly goals could be –

• cut back on soda/sugary drinks by replacing them with water 3 times this week, then slowly increase your water each week
• make one meatless meal every week to cut back on saturated fat (i.e. red meat)
• try to add one fruit/vegetable to every meal for one week, then the next week make it two, etc.
• go for a walk twice after dinner, then three times the following week, etc
• try a fish recipe once this week, then add another the following week

I’d love to hear your progress or what changes you are focusing on making, comment below to share!

Some heart healthy recipes to get you started –

Fish Taco Wraps – featuring whole grain flatbread, heart healthy avocado, and Omega 3 filled salmon these fish taco wraps make an excellent lunch or dinner.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan – one of my absolute favorite Meatless Monday meals, this baked eggplant is crispy, flavored with dried herbs and makes a fantastic dinner.

Greek Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette – chock full of delicious, fresh veggies this salad is a weekly staple in my house and drizzled with delicious olive oil based vinaigrette that comes together in under 10 minutes