What Are The Cardiovascular Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet provides a wide variety of nutrients to your body. As it is a highly balanced diet, it has gained adherents throughout the world.

The Mediterranean diet is one of the nutritional plans with the largest number of followers in the world. As you can guess, the term refers to the culinary habits and practices of Mediterranean countries. Now, do you know the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet?

In recent years, several studies have shown that this diet can prevent degenerative diseases . Among those that can be most successfully prevented are those related to cardiovascular problems.

The Mediterranean diet is characterized by using white meat instead of red meat. Also choose to use healthy oils, such as olive, and to include a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and seeds.

For all the above, it is worth knowing a little more about this style of eating. Are you ready to understand how you can improve your lifestyle with minimal changes? Don’t worry about the economy. The vast majority of the food you need is already on hand.

Cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet

1. The use of olive oil

Olive oil is used predominantly in the different recipes of the Mediterranean diet. This provides monounsaturated fats, contrary to conventional oils, in which saturated fats prevail.

Various investigations have indicated that olive oil can reduce the probability of suffering from cardiovascular disease by up to 45%. This can lower the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.

Also, olive oil regulates metabolism. Therefore it is ideal for people with constipation. In turn, it also protects us from gastrointestinal diseases and facilitates the absorption of nutrients.

Olive oil also has antioxidant properties due to its high content of vitamin E. Therefore, it takes care of the skin from the damage caused by free radicals found in the environment and that promote premature aging.

Another feature of olive oil is that even at high temperatures it can maintain its chemical composition. This means that it does not generate toxins when heated. Due to this characteristic, it is the most recommended oil for frying food.

2. Fish instead of red meat

Fish is a white meat that provides us with multiple essential nutrients. Among all, the most prominent is omega 3, an essential polyunsaturated fat.

The fatty acids in fish protect our heart , reducing the presence of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood, promoting circulation and regulating blood pressure . According to the Mediterranean diet, fish should be eaten at least 3 times a week.

3. Daily consumption of fruits and vegetables

To take full advantage of the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet, you should consume fruits and vegetables every day. Fruits and vegetables provide us with nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals.

These foods are also rich in antioxidants that protect us from suffering a heart attack and arteriosclerosis. The latter is a disease that causes loss of elasticity of the arterial walls.  Aim for 5-6 servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day. Ideally, they should be varied to obtain different benefits.

4. Nuts and seeds

While nuts and seeds are mostly made up of fat, they are healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. This means that they reduce the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood, associated with cardiovascular diseases.

Each day it is ideal that you include two to three servings of nuts and seeds . Try to vary them and do not overdo it . Although five nuts can do wonders for your health, overdoing it could lead to metabolic disturbances.

The Mediterranean diet in your life

Now that you’ve discovered the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet, you can’t help but change your habits and adopt it as your eating guide! The Mediterranean diet is a diet extremely varied, so you will discover that each meal is a true delight.  

The Mediterranean diet is the opposite of diets that restrict the amount of food as much as possible ; it is a diet in which healthy foods abound. To increase the benefits of this diet it is advisable to adopt it for life.