The Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

When people want to know what causes heart disease, many can answer the question simply by looking down at their plate. Diet is a huge component of heart health, and many of the things we eat—especially in America—are detrimental to our cardiovascular wellbeing. South Denver Cardiology has many healthy recipes that you can use, but there is one catch-all diet that is great for heart health, proven by centuries of experience. Check out the benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean Sea borders many countries known for their delicious food, especially to its north and east: Spain, the south of France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and Israel. While the cuisines of these countries are very diverse, they share a common trait that sets them apart from American food—no butter.
Americans and Northern Europeans use tons of butter, which is delicious but high in cholesterol and quite detrimental to heart health. Mediterranean cuisine uses virtually no butter at all; instead they use olive oil. Many studies have proven this aspect of the Mediterranean diet to significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
One big step you can take towards the Mediterranean diet and heart health is replacing the butter in your diet with olive oil. It may sound difficult, but in fact there are many recipes whose butter can be replaced with olive oil: almost all sautéing and pan-frying can use oil instead of butter, and many (but not all) backed goods can use oil as well.
Other Mediterranean ingredients are equally delicious and nutritious. Cooking with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, chickpeas, couscous, eggplant, hazelnuts, peppers, dates, shrimp, seafood, and wine will improve your diet and might even transform your home into a seaside Sicilian villa!
Now it’s time to start mastering some easy and healthy Mediterranean recipes. We’ve provided a few here, but there are many, many more. Fresh Greek Salad: With fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and more! Yum! Mediterranean Couscous: A small pasta (not a grain!) mixed with tomatoes, peppers, onions, oil, and other great ingredients. Delicious! Shrimp Scampi Pasta: A great lemony seafood dish with onion, garlic, peppers, and other flavorful foods over linguine. Scrumptious!
Get cooking and get healthy!
How To Use This Information
There is so much that goes into heart health, and South Denver Cardiology can cover it all! From recipes and classes to medical procedures and treatments, We can provide you with whatever heart health help you need. Call us at (303) 744-1065 or contact us online.

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South Denver Cardiology

Randy Cupps Graduated from Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado, in 1983 with a degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology. Randy started his medical career in 1980 as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) working on an ambulance and in an emergency room. He then joined South Denver Cardiology in 1986 when it was South Denver Cardiac Rehabilitation as an Exercise Physiologist conducting a wide variety of Graded Exercise Testing on a diverse patient population. Randy continues to keep his EMT current, and he is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist. In 2012 Randy acquired the role of business development, marketing, and physician relations manager at SDCA.

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