The Mediterranean Diet
A Heart Smart Way to Eat
One highlight of WATE's week-long series on cardiology was an "Eating Healthy" segment featuring Dr. Emily Diltz, cardiologist at Parkwest Medical Center.
Dr. Diltz, also an experienced dietitian, has found that the Mediterranean diet is instrumental in lowering the risk factors for heart attacks. Dr. Diltz has been prescribing the Mediterranean diet to her patients for the last year to help reduce the chance of a heart attack.
Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, have a much lower death rate than the United States when it comes to heart disease. While this may not be entirely due to diet, experts agree that diet does play a major role. Mediterranean foods have about half the fat calories because of an increased use of olive oil and tofu. Olive oil is primarily used in cooking because of its monounsaturated fat content, which is important in raising HDL-or "good cholesterol"-levels. Tofu is a good protein source that can take the place of red meat.
The Mediterranean diet calls for an abundance of food from plant sources such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Dr Diltz recommends substituting olive oil for butter, eating a low to moderate amount of fish, and cutting back to 16 ounces of red meat per month. Consuming large amounts of cheese and yogurt are discouraged.
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Lou-Poos Chicken And Tofu Stir-Fry
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