The Heart and The Mediterranean Diet

I hope you had a nice weekend.

I want to share some of myself with you because as time goes on I hope we will get to learn more about each other.

I spent the weekend with my daughter and her fiancè in Orange County, Ca. We had a great time; we relaxed together, went to a comedy show which was really funny, and just spent good family time.

The next day, we had lunch with my cousin and her family, who live local. My cousin’s husband recently found out he has 3 aneurysms in his heart, which was a shock and so scary to hear.

Since I have been dealing with my uncle’s heart problems, I was anxious to learn more about how he found out and what his symptoms were.

During lunch, he explained that his sister and brother recently were diagnosed with heart issues – blocked arteries and aneurysms. It runs in the family and they suggested that he get scanned to make sure that all was well. He thought, “why not!”. So he got a CT scan.

He was symptom-free and sure the tests would come back normal. When he got the results, he was shocked to find out he was at risk for a ruptured aneurysm at any time! Life changing information! He is lucky he found out and will have surgery to resolve the problem.

Now, it’s time to modify his diet and make some lifestyle changes.

The Mediterranean diet has been studied extensively over the years and has shown that the benefits of this diet, along with using Olive Oil every day, is a heart-healthy way to eat and live. (I’ve attached an article below if you want to read more information.)

To summarize, this diet is rich in fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, fish and poultry and includes large helpings of Olive Oil. When on this diet, your HDL cholesterol improves the way it functions and it’s a huge benefit to your heart.

I hope this information was informative. I know it made me re-commit how I want to eat.

Ciao for now,

RoseAnne

Mayo Clinic