LIVE IT: Reduce Risk of Heart Disease with a Mediterranean Diet

LIVE IT: Reduce Risk of Heart Disease with a Mediterranean Diet

We’ve all heard that we should avoid fatty foods. But research actually shows that we should eat fatty foods. That is, the healthy ones like olive oil to fight bad cholesterol.
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Transcript Below:

Show Open

Patricia Kelikani (Host)
Health Journalist
What comes to mind when you think of the Mediterranean? Perhaps a pristine Italian coastline, or a dream vacation destination, or how about food? The Mediterranean diet has many health benefits that can lower our risk for heart disease.

Dr. Mark Reeves (Host)
Surgical Oncologist
It’s a sobering reality that one in every four deaths in America is a result of heart disease. One of the main risk factors is having high cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance and when your body makes too much it can build up on the walls of your arteries. This build up restricts the amount of blood and oxygen carried throughout your body and can result in a stroke, heart attack or other forms of heart disease.

Patricia Kelikani (Host)
Eating a traditional Mediterranean diet lowers our risk for heart disease.

Dr. Ella Haddad
LLU Associate Professor of Nutrition
“The traditional Mediterranean diet is legumes and vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, olive oil instead of butter and other types of fat. Small amounts of dairy products and small amounts of meat.”

Patricia Kelikani (Host)
The Mediterranean diet has many health benefits because it contains high amounts of antioxidants, protein, and omega-3’s.

Dr. Mark Reeves (Host)
But you should shift from avoiding fats entirely to adding healthy fats into your diet that fight bad cholesterol.

Patricia Kelikani (Host)
To get the good unsaturated fats substitute olive oil, nuts and seeds, as well as avocadoes into your diet. You can use olive oil for salad dressings, stir-fry, make desserts or replace butter by dipping your bread in olive oil.

Dr. Ella Haddad
“The fats in olive oil are mostly monounsaturated, which help lower cholesterol.”

Dr. Mark Reeves (Host)
The second tip is eat more legumes like beans, lentils, and garbanzos. A Traditional Mediterranean food like hummus is made from garbanzo beans and oil from whole sesame seeds. Try adding hummus to your next sandwich or use it as a dip for pita bread, carrots sticks and other vegetables.

Patricia Kelikani (Host)
The third tip is to eat more nuts and seeds like almonds and walnuts. One thing you can try is, instead of having a candy dish on the table, fill it with almonds. This way as you and your family members walk by you’ll pick up a quick and healthy snack.
There’s your tip for the day on how you can live healthier, longer.

All health and health-related information contained in this program is general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for a visit with a health care professional. Viewers should consult their health care providers concerning any medical condition or treatment.