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Young at Heart BY K AT E S T E R N E R
What does it take to maintain a healthy heart? What things can put your heart health at risk? How can you make changes to your lifestyle to stay “young at heart”? Dr. Greg Path, M.D., a member of St. Philip the Deacon and a cardiologist with the Allina Metropolitan Heart and Vascular Institute, admits, “There is a lot of good information available to guide us [in heart health], but it is constantly being updated, and that can cause some confusion.” The primary risk factors for cardiovascular disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, poor physical fitness, stress and a family history of cardiovascular disease. The more risk factors present, the higher the risk. However, even small lifestyle changes can radically decrease the risk.
The biggest lifestyle change that cardiologists recommend to heart patients is an improved diet. There are many diet change options available, and the best ones for heart health are plant-based. General guidelines include eating more fruits, nuts, vegetables, whole grains and seafood over red meat, as well as calcium rich dairy products and polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Guidelines also recommend eating less processed foods, refined grains, red meats, meats processed with sodium and nitrates, trans fats, sweetened drinks and salt. These general rules can be summed up by author and nutrition activist Michael Pollen’s simple credo: “Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Among the most recommended diets is the Mediterranean Diet, with its traditional dietary patterns from populations bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Studies begun in the 1960s found these populations to have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease. Olive oil is a
