TV doctor says Mediterranean lifestyle is key to 'protect' from heart disease
We all want to keep our hearts as healthy as possible so we can live a long life, and while we know that a huge part of keeping our bodies in working order is down to our diets, it can be tricky to know exactly what the best foods are to keep our vital organs in tip-top shape. According to one TV doctor though, we don't have to look far to find the perfect diet for heart health - as our friends in southern Europe have already figured it out.
Michael Mosley has been a fan of the Mediterranean diet - which is rich in olive oil, nuts, and oily fish - for years, and has claimed that following the diet for the past decade has "helped me keep weight off and my blood pressure and blood sugar levels within a healthy range". Now, he's insisted that by incorporating other parts of the Mediterranean lifestyle into your day-to-day life, you could be "protecting your heart" in the long run.
Eating fruit, veggies, nuts, and olive oil could reduce your risk of heart disease (stock photo) (Getty Images)In his column for the Daily Mail, Dr Mosley said that large trials have shown the Mediterranean diet - which also involves lots of fruit and veg - "can cut your risk of heart disease, stroke and developing type 2 diabetes by almost half". The diet is packed with anti-inflammatory foods, and chronic inflammation helps drive heart disease.
However, the diet guru insisted that simply adding more olive oil to your diet isn't enough, as there's "so much more to benefit from" when it comes to the Mediterranean lifestyle. In fact, the lifestyle has been studied so much that scientists in Spain developed the Mediterranean Lifestyle Index (MEDLIFE) that not only tracks diet but also activity levels and how often a person socialises with friends.
Dr Mosley explained that the MEDLIFE system awards people "points" for consuming foods that fit into the parameters of the Mediterranean diet, as well as for socialising for at least a couple of hours at the weekend and spending less than one hour a day watching TV.
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And it isn't just those living in the Mediterranean that benefit, as a study by the Harvard School of Public Health recently found when it examined 110,000 middle-aged Brits using data from UK Biobank. The participants were scored using the MEDLIFE index and monitored for an average of nine years, and it was discovered that those with a higher MEDLIFE score had a lower risk of heart disease as well as a 29% lower risk of getting cancer and of dying prematurely.
The study found that factors that predicted the lowest risk of death from heart disease were not diet at all, but were actually being physically active and sociable. Dr Mosley suggested that could possibly be because "exercise and socialising are both good ways to reduce stress, which is known to increase the risk of heart disease."
The diet expert concluded in his column: "As prevention is always better than cure, why not adopt a more laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle to protect your heart? Pour olive oil on your veg, snack on nuts, go for a stroll with friends - and have the occasional nap. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?"
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