Heart Health
Look after your heart this #ValentinesDay with Rhonda Noone - Food, Nutrition and Contemporary Issues Lecturer at Perth College UHI ❤️👇
If you want to know how to look after your heart for the long term, switch off your Bumble/Tinder and think about adopting a Mediterranean style diet.
A Mediterranean diet incorporates a more plant-based approach to eating with regular fish and only occasional red meat advised. The evidence for a Mediterranean diet and heart health is difficult to dispute. The work of Ancel Keys, who first established a relationship between the Mediterranean diet and lower incidence of heart disease, has been further supported by many long-term studies and systematic reviews. The benefits brought by Mediterranean-derived dietary interventions are effective in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (i.e., those who have already had a heart attack or stroke).
The Mediterranean diet has also been demonstrated to be effective in the therapeutic management of obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, or neurodegenerative diseases.
What does a Mediterranean Diet consist of?
Seasonal fruit and vegetables
Olive oil (main fat source)
Nuts and seeds (either as part of the recipes or as healthy snacks)
Legumes several times weekly
Wholegrain cereals and cereal products (yes, even bread)
Fish - two to three times weekly
Dairy - yogurt, milk, cheese
Spices and herbs
Infrequent consumption of sweets (a few times weekly)
Limited red and processed meat
Three to four eggs, weekly
Drink mostly water
Drink wine in moderation, always with meals
One of the most prominent aspects of a traditional Mediterranean diet is the absence of processed food. Many studies have sought to explain the benefits beyond the presence of omega-3 fats from oily fish and fibre from the fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain foods. However, it is highly likely that part of the benefit is related to the foods that are not present.
Another aspect to the Mediterranean diet incorporates a relaxed style of eating, socially and not in front of a laptop or scrolling on a phone. This means that you are more present, and this has an established effect of satiety (feelings of fullness after a meal), which can impact on your intake later on in the day.
See Diabetes UK for some simple Mediterranean recipes >>
