Donna Mendes, M.D. is a senior vascular surgeon at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospitals, New York, N.Y. She is also a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery. According to her, approximately 795,000 strokes happen annually in the United States.
Your health and your chances of success can be improved. avoiding a strokeSimply switching to a Mediterranean-style diet can help reduce your risk of developing impairments and death. This can lower low density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol. “bad”A higher cholesterol level is more likely than others to create fatty deposits within your arteries.
The Mediterranean diet contains:
* Olive or canola oil as a healthy replacement for butter or margarine. It can be used in cooking, dipping and even spread on bread.
* Seven to 10 servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Choose seasonal and fresh produce whenever possible. You can snack on them by cutting them into pieces and storing them in your fridge.
* Whole-grain bread and cereal. Start to eat more whole grain rice and pasta. For bread, choose organic dips.
* Healthy nuts. Unsalted almonds, cashews and pistachios are all good options. However, you should limit your intake to just a few per day. Peanut butter should be made from natural peanut butter and not have hydrogenated fat.
* No salt. Seasoning with herbs and spices is possible.
* Fresh fish and poultry one to two times a week. Tuna, salmon and trout are all good options. The best way to cook fish is by grilling rather than frying. Avoid skin on poultry.
* Red meat, but only a few times per week. One serving should be about the same size as a deck or cards. Avoid high-fat and salty meats.
* Low-fat dairy products like skim milk, fat-free yogurt and low-fat cheese.
* If your physician permits it, you may have a glass of wine at dinner.
The Society for Vascular Surgery has more information about your vascular health. Visit their website at www.VascularWeb.org.
