A Mediterranean diet is good for your heart

 A Mediterranean diet is good for your heart,deaths is likely to encourage those with health-robbing diets to eat like a Greek fisherman.

But switching from an all-too-familiar American diet heavy in saturated fats, salts, sugars and chemicals to a plant-based one rich in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish, nuts, beans and occasional red wine can be intimidating.

It doesn’t need to be, according to medical experts.

Mediterranean cooking is basically simple, even for the novice. Success depends more on the quality of the ingredients — readily available in mainstream groceries — than the talent of the cook.

Experts also advise a slow and steady evolution of heart-clogging to heart healthy. Gradual, incremental steps — swapping french fries for black beans, breakfast pastries for scrambled eggs — are recommended.

“It takes a while to change anything, especially how we eat,” said nutritionist and author Stephanie Green, owner of Nutrition Studio in Phoenix. “Don’t feel you have to change everything at once or follow the diet perfectly. You’ll only stress yourself out and fail if you make too many changes too quickly.”

A study released in February offers ample incentive to adopt the Mediterranean diet — introduced in 1993 by Oldways, Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization.

The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed, for the first time, that the Mediterranean diet reduced heart-disease risk and death. Until the study of randomly assigned 7,447 people in Spain who were overweight, evidence that the Mediterranean diet prevented heart disease was scientifically weak. Previous accolades were based on studies that found those living in Mediterranean countries to have lower rates of heart disease.

According to the latest findings, the diet helped those following it even though they did not lose weight and most were already taking statins, blood-pressure medications or diabetes drugs to lower their heart-disease risk.

“The study proves that eating a plant-based diet works. The findings are very important,” said Jorge Alegría, a Scottsdale-based Mayo Clinic cardiologist who lost 40 pounds and lowered his blood pressure and cholesterol after adopting a plant-based diet five years ago. “This is a diet that encourages you to eat all the colors of the rainbow.”

The tenet of the diet remains unchanged since its inception: Fresh fruits and vegetables are the centerpiece of every meal. Strive for seven to 10 servings a day of veggies and fruits. Olive oil is the primary source of fat.

Eat fish once or twice a week. Fresh or water-packed tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel and herring are healthy choices.

Limit red meat. When eaten, make sure it’s lean and keep portions small. Same with sugar and desserts. Have a glass of red wine with dinner. Season food with bold flavors: basil, oregano, rosemary, lemon, garlic and mint. Eat whole grains and legumes in abundance.

The diet, however, requires a commitment to cooking at home, according to Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of “The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook,” first published in 1994 and recently updated. Thankfully, the cuisine is improvisational and forgiving.

“You have only two cloves of garlic instead of the called-for six? Use two and don’t worry. The chard looks good while the spinach is yellowed and wilted? Use chard instead of spinach. The dish may end up a little less predominantly flavored with this or that, but somewhere in the Mediterranean, you can be certain, someone has made it like that before,” she wrote.

To get started on a Mediterranean eating plan, experts offer the following tips:

Set realistic goals and make changes incrementally over a minimum of six months. A “baby step” can be as simple as swapping a pastrami and Swiss on white for almond butter and sliced berries on whole grain.

Replace butter with extra-virgin olive whenever possible. Begin by replacing olive oil for butter in mashed potatoes.

Drizzle whenever possible. Olive oils lose nutritional punch when heated, so use cold whenever possible. Dip bread in olive oil instead of slathering with butter. Pour a bit over grilled fish or roasted vegetables.

Swap cream-based salad dressings for vinaigrette. They typically are made with three parts oil to one part acid. Adding mustard, herbs, garlic, citrus zest and Parmesan enhances the flavor and helps to stabilize the mixture. Vinegars are the traditional acid, but citrus juice, wine and sake work as well. The vinaigrette also can double as a marinade for fish and chicken.

Enjoy colorful foods and add a new fruit or vegetable every week, or at least monthly. Be patient when introducing foods. It can take several tries to acquire a taste for a new flavor. If at first you don’t like the taste, try preparing it differently and with a favorite flavor. For example: Shave Parmesan over roasted asparagus or toss dried cranberries into sauteed kale.

Try roasting. Roasting vegetables and fruits dramatically deepens their flavor. Add roasted pineapple, mango, beets, peppers, onions, tomatoes, eggplant and garlic to soups and salads.

Grow herbs in patio pots. They thrive in our warm climate and make it easy to add fresh flavors inexpensively.

Opt for wild-caught salmon and other seafood varieties over farmed. Wild varieties, such as Copper River king, chinook, coho and steelhead, have more omega-3 heart-healthy fats and flavor than their farm-raised kin.

Canned works, too. Increase seafood consumption with canned tuna, salmon and sardines. All can be served with diced vegetables and tossed with vinaigrette or tossed in whole-wheat pasta with olive oil and tomatoes.

Use lemon instead of salt. Salt can increase blood pressure, called the “silent killer,” by holding excess fluid in the body and placing an added burden on the heart. Lemon juice offers a healthful alternative. Adding a splash of juice close to the end of cooking time enhances flavors in the same way as salt.

Go nuts. Keep almonds, walnuts, pistachios and other nuts on hand for snacking instead of chips and crackers. Yes, they are fattening. About 80 percent of calories in nuts come from fat, but it’s healthy unsaturated fat heralded in the Mediterranean diet, not the artery-clogging kind. Nutritionists recommend about 1½ to 2 ounces a day.

Eat fruit with breakfast.

Embrace whole over processed grains. Whole grains are cheap, nutritional powerhouses, easy to fix and, if you choose the right grain, quick to cook. Brown rice and barley take nearly an hour of cooking, so if possible, cook early in the morning and reheat for dinner. An elite group of grains — quinoa, bulgur, oats and cornmeal or polenta — go from box to table in less than half that time.

Choose low-fat dairy. Switch to skim milk, fat-free Greek yogurt and low-fat cheeses in moderation.

Portions still matter. Use a quarter- or half-cup measure to control portion size when plating food. And serve food on small plates to make portions look more generous.

Adopt a Mediterranean philosophy. Food garnished with fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic and shared at a table with friends and family is good tasting and good for you.

“Eating the Mediterranean way,” Green said, “is good for the soul.”