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Here's to your Heart! Cardiac health and the Mediterranean diet

© Sonia Michaels

This month's article is a bit late - but the reason for the delay is directly connected with my chosen topic. At the beginning of November, my father went into the hospital for cardiac bypass surgery. Five bypasses later, he's recuperating at home, with more color in his face than we have seen in years, and with a newfound resolve to exercise, eat right, and generally be good to his body. Now, we already eat pretty well around here, but we could - and will - make some dietary changes, for our own future health as well as my father's. Fortunately, one of the world's healthiest ways of eating is the Mediterranean diet - but what exactly IS the Mediterranean diet, and how can a diet that includes so many oils and fats be "heart-healthy?"

The Mediterranean diet is not quite the same as the French Paradox that has been in and out of the news for the past few years. For an excellent explanation of the differences between these two topics, as well as the amount of overlap, take a look at the excellent article in the Wine Spectator's August 31, 1995 issue, "The French Paradox and the Mediterranean Diet." I can't link directly to the article from this page, but it's easily found if you start at http://www.winespectator.com and search the article archives in the online library. Essentially, the French Paradox is focused on the relationship between wine (especially red wine) and cardiac health, whereas the Mediterranean diet is a more holistic approach to eating - one which includes wine, but also includes healthy fats, whole foods, and less red meat than the average North American diet contains.

For more on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet over the usually recommended low-fat/low-cholesterol diet, take a look at the results of Dr. Laura Corr's study, available at http://www.rdrop.com/users/caf/corr.html - this study clarifies the relationship between diet and cardiac health, and mentions the Lyon trial, which discovered that subjects eating a Mediterranean style diet had "little change in cholesterol or body weight, but the trial was stopped early following a 70% reduction in myocardial infarction, coronary mortality and total mortality after 2 years."

One of the secrets of the Mediterranean diet seems to be moderation and balance - moderate quantities of red meat and wine, frequent servings of seafood in many different forms, a wide variety of vegetables and grains, and lots of really good olive oil. And, of course, those usually small but often quite wonderful desserts. The main meal of the day (usually lunch) is made up of a number of different courses (few of which contain red meat), and ideally takes a couple of hours to eat - quite a difference from the rushed burger-and-fries lunches that are so prevalent in the North American diet.

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