3 Tips for Better Heart Health Using the Mediterranean Diet

Most people are aware that the Mediterranean Diet is one of the healthiest out there. It yields a vast number of benefits, from extending our lifespans and sharpening our brain, to helping us lose weight and yes, improving our cardiovascular health.

If you have a family history of heart disease, or simply want to make sure your heart is as healthy as possible, the Mediterranean diet has a lot of potential benefits. Here’s 3 tips on how you can use this incredible diet to help benefit your heart.

Use olive oil in your cooking

One of the reasons why it is much easier to keep to the Mediterranean diet than other diets is because fat has not been stripped out of it. Instead of using unhealthy fats that can clog arteries and cause problems for the body, the Mediterranean diet uses olive oil and fatty fish as its source of dietary fats.
Studies have shown that people who consume half a tablespoon or more of olive oil every day have a 15% lower risk of having any kind of cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of coronary heart disease.

That’s a big benefit for such a small change!

Switch to whole grains

Remember that healthy heart checkmark on the front of whole grain cheerio’s boxes? They get that mark because of the whole grains the cereal is made with. Whole grains have a great many benefits to the heart and switching to them can reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 30%.
The Mediterranean diet is packed with examples of whole grains, which makes it an easy and simple choice to include in your diet.

Eat together

It might raise your eyebrow to see this on the list but eating together is a huge part of the Mediterranean diet. There’s also good evidence to support that eating alone can be bad for your heart. A study published in 2016 found that women who ate alone were 2.58 times more likely to have Angina, a symptom of coronary artery disease.

This study was conducted only in women, but even if you are a man, it makes sense to make a simple change to your lifestyle and eat with your family instead. Eating together has a lot of benefits, and heart health is just one of them.
Studies have also found that those who eat together tend to consume fewer calories (leading to weight loss) and that eating alone was linked to depression. Eating with your family, or a friend, is a simple change that can help make your day brighter—and healthier.

Eat with us

If you’re unsure about whether whole grains will taste good, or perhaps don’t have anyone to “Eat together” with, we invite you to come to Aladdin’s and share a meal with us. Our Mediterranean cuisine is packed with healthy and nutritious ingredients that will help fill you up and keep you healthy.
We take pride in our wonderful food, service, and the good health it can provide for you, your family, and yes, your heart.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health/is-eating-alone-bad-for-your-heart/