Why I Love the Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean is a magical place of deep blue seas and lush vegetation. Is it any surprise that it also holds the secrets to longevity and optimal vitality? The traditional sustenance of the ancient Greek island of Crete includes whole grains, dark green vegetables, fruit, nuts, olive oil, fish, and wine in moderation. Meat, if eaten at all, comes from grazing animals, and the eggs are from chickens who roam the island at will, choosing the lushest bits of greenery for their meals. (Contrary to many peoples' wishful thinking, a traditional mediterranean diet does not include all-you-can eat pasta and cream sauce!)

What makes this diet so fascinating is that those who eat this way are far healthier than most of the rest of the world. Only the traditional Japanese diet comes close. Choosing to follow a mediterranean diet will reduce your risk of a heart attack by 35-70%, and cut your cancer risk by 25-60%. People who eat this way also tend to be leaner, are less likely to be depressed, and even have a lower risk for dementia later in life.

As we start a new year and a new decade, this is the perfect way to jump-start your commitment to a smarter, healthier way of life.

Seven Steps to a Heart Loving Lifestyle

Heart disease kills ten times as many women each year as breast cancer, and seventy times more than ovarian cancer. Yet we are not taking it personally. It is telling that heart disease deaths are on the rise in women under 50.

While genetics, bad luck and good fortune are important pieces of the puzzle, ultimately, you are responsible for your own health. This is especially true when it comes to matters of the heart. Did you know that 85% of heart disease and heart attacks are preventable? What's more, 70% can be prevented simply by a healthy diet, exercise, and a heart-loving lifestyle. Fifteen percent  includes medically treatable conditions related to hereditary high cholesterol, high blood-pressure, and diabetes. Type I diabetes also falls into this category. Only 15% is purely genetic, unrelated to these other risks. When you consider that heart disease costs the US over $450 billion dollars each year, a little prevention can go a long way!

For my book (The Smart Woman's Guide to Heart Health: Dr. Sarah's Seven Steps to a Heart-Loving Lifestyle), I developed a Seven Step approach to heart health. The point of this blog is not to re-write my book, but I do want to lay out those seven steps for you, to give us a starting point.

1. Smart Women Take Charge of Their Numbers: Know your blood pressure, body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, lipids (including LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides), and blood sugar. These very personal statistics have the power to add or subtract years from your well-being. It is up to you to decide what you will do with them.

2. Smart Women are Healthy Eaters:  When it comes to a heart-loving lifestyle what we eat matters. Learning the elements of a healthy diet, and how the pieces fit together, will help us to separate the “wonder foods” from the “evil-doers.” The payoff: a healthier heart, increased vitality, and a body that is leaner, fitter, and ready to take us where we want to go.

3.Smart Women Know How to Take a Break (Without Checking Out): Heart smart women have healthy habits. We may savor a good cup of coffee in the morning and a glass of wine at night, but we know the word “moderation.” It is never smart to smoke or use illicit drugs. If you are a smoker, take heart, and don't give up. It's not easy to quit, but it is possible, especially with help from your physician or a skilled hynotherapist.

4. Smart Women Know their Alternatives: Smart women know their alternatives—vitamins, herbs, supplements, and alternative therapies—and the good and the bad that goes along with them. We also know the value of a good doctor, and how to make her an ally for optimal health.

5. Smart Women get a Move On: When we get up and move, we are tapping into a life force for health that is more powerful than anything the pharmaceutical industry could dream up. Heart-smart women lift dumbbells, walk like we mean it, practice yoga, take the stairs over the elevator and dance to our own music.

6.Smart Women Listen to Their Mothers: Whether it’s getting a good night’s sleep, keeping those pearly whites gleaming, or making time for our friends, heart healthy women practice the daily wisdom our mothers always preached. And just like our mothers promised, a positive approach to life keeps us on the road to good health.

7. Smart Women are Hip to Their Hormones: Medical science has arrived to this party unfashionably late. Although hormone replacement therapies have been around since the 1940's, and birth control pills since the 1960's, we are only now beginning to unravel the mysteries of estrogen, progesterone, and the effects of these complicated hormones on heart health. This area of research has been quickly heating up since the 1990's, and I promise to keep you updated on the latest developments.

Start Your New Years Resolutions!

Coming very soon: Your weekly helping of heart health, updates on the lastest medical and nutritional breakthroughs, and practical advice for living your healthiest year ever! To get started, check out my book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Heart Health, available on line at Amazon.com, BN.com, at bookstores everywhere (including the fabulous independent Legacy Books in Plano, Texas), and in librairies across the country.