Take Your Diet to the Mediterranean
Fish instead of fried chicken. Brown rice instead of a white-flour roll. A handful of nuts instead of chips. Olive oil instead of butter. And plenty of vegetables and fruit. Easy food swaps like these put the heart-healthy, 地中海饮食延年益寿的力量——简单又美味.
Just how much impact can diet have? 2013年西班牙的一项大型研究显示，地中海式饮食可将患心脏病的风险降低28%至30%. 但你不一定要住在地中海附近才能受益. In a 2013 study that tracked a diverse group of 6,229 American women and men, ages 44 to 84, for eight years, 约翰霍普金斯大学的研究人员和其他人发现，地中海式饮食与定期锻炼相结合, a healthy weight, and not smoking protected against early heart disease减缓了动脉壁上斑块的积聚，并将早期死亡的风险降低了80%.
The Power of Your Mediterranean Plate
“我们的研究告诉我们，你有能力改变你的健康和生活轨迹,该研究的主要作者、约翰·霍普金斯大学的专家海瑟姆·艾哈迈德说, M.D., M.P.H. “With a healthier diet, exercise, weight maintenance and smoking avoidance, 成千上万的参与者能够活得更长，没有心血管疾病. You can too!”
根据艾哈迈德的说法，地中海式饮食在四个方面对心脏有益:
- It helps keep cholesterol levels healthy.
- It enhances your body’s ability to absorb blood sugar (diabetes and prediabetes threaten your heart’s health).
- It cools off damaging inflammation这是一种免疫系统反应，当身体对抗感知到的入侵者时触发. Acute, or one-time, 炎症有助于对抗病毒和细菌, but people who are overweight, consume high levels of refined foods, and lead a sedentary lifestyle have chronic, or ongoing, inflammation, 会导致糖尿病，肝脏和心脏疾病.
- It helps arteries stay flexible and resist plaque buildups.
这个计划中的营养素作为一个团队来产生这些好处. These include “good” monounsaturated fat from nuts and olive oil; beneficial omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish like salmon; and fiber, vitamins, minerals, 以及全谷物和农产品中的保护性植物化学物质.
“What you don’t eat is also important,” Ahmed notes. “大量精制碳水化合物(如糖果和白面包)会导致血糖飙升, 是什么促使身体以不同的方式储存脂肪，从而导致肥胖和糖尿病. Saturated fats [found in whole milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, 肥肉和家禽皮会影响你的胆固醇. 所有这些有害的影响都会极大地增加你患心脏病的风险.”
Moving to the Mediterranean One Step At a Time
做一些简单的改变，把你的饮食带向地中海.
- 早餐可以尝试燕麦片配新鲜水果和脱脂牛奶，而不是培根和鸡蛋或煎饼.
- 午餐以蔬菜沙拉开始，淋上少许橄榄油.
- Have fruit for dessert after dinner.
For more heart-smart choices, check out 这些食谱来自约翰霍普金斯医学健康图书馆.
艾哈迈德建议:“用一种健康的食物来代替不健康的食物。. 坚持三周，然后再做两次改变. Slow and steady wins the race.”
Fit Facts: Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet
(upbeat music) >> Narrator: Eating a Mediterranean diet can help reduce your risk of heart disease by 30%.
它可以降低你体重增加的风险，并将早死的风险降低80%. 主要成分包括全谷物和富含蛋白质的豆类和扁豆, lean proteins like fish and poultry, 低脂乳制品，比如脱脂牛奶和低脂酸奶. 更多健康饮食小贴士，请访问selenaumbrella.net/food-and-nutrition.
Definitions
Whole grains: Grains such as whole wheat, 糙米和大麦仍然有富含纤维的外壳, called the bran, and inner germ. It provides vitamins, minerals and good fats. Choosing whole grain side dishes, cereals, 面包和其他食物可以降低患心脏病的风险, type 2 diabetes and cancer and improve digestion, too.
Saturated fat: A type of fat found in abundance in butter, whole milk, ice cream, full-fat cheese, fatty meats, poultry skin, and palm and coconut oils. 饱和脂肪会提高血液中对心脏有害的低密度脂蛋白胆固醇的水平. 它还会干扰你的身体吸收血糖的能力. 限制饱和脂肪可以帮助你控制患心脏病的风险.
Prediabetes当血糖(也称为血糖)水平高于正常水平，但还没有高到足以诊断为糖尿病时. That’s an A1C of 5.7 percent to 6.4%(一种估算你3个月平均血糖读数的方法), a fasting blood glucose level of 100 to 125 mg/dl, 或者OGTT(口服葡萄糖耐量试验)两小时血糖在140到199毫克/分升. 前驱糖尿病有时也被称为糖耐量受损或空腹血糖受损.
Omega-3脂肪酸(oh-may-ga three fah-tee - a-sids)健康的多不饱和脂肪，身体用来构建脑细胞膜. They’re considered essential fats because our body needs them but can’t make them on its own; we must take them in through food or supplements. A diet rich in omega-3s—found in fatty fish, like salmon, tuna and mackerel, as well as in walnuts, 亚麻籽油和菜籽油和低饱和脂肪可能有助于预防心脏病, stroke, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.
Inflammation (in-fluh-mey-shun)伤口或刮伤周围的红热是短期炎症, produced by the immune system to aid healing. But another type called chronic inflammation, triggered by compounds from abdominal fat, gum disease and other factors, lingers in the body. 研究表明，这种类型会增加患心脏病的风险, diabetes, dementia and some forms of cancer.
Arteries (are-te-rease)血管将富含氧气的血液从心脏输送到身体的各个部位. Arteries look like thin tubes or hoses. The walls are made of a tough outer layer, 中间的肌肉层和平滑的内壁有助于血液流动. 肌肉层的扩张和收缩帮助血液流动.
