For a long time, a low-fat diet was the go-to diet plan for people looking to prevent heart disease… But not only does a low-fat diet increase your risk of an early death, but it turns out it’s far from the best choice for keeping your heart healthy too.
The low-carb heart cure- Researchers from the University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Centre in Israel found that eating a low-carb Mediterranean diet was more effective than eating a low-fat Mediterranean diet when it comes to reducing hidden fat deposits around the heart.
In case you didn’t know that you have to worry about “heart fat”- These fat deposits are known as pericardial fat, and they put you at risk for heart disease. Low-carb eating helped people lose twice as much of this dangerous heart fat as low-fat eating did. Researchers also found that cutting carbs increased levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and trimmed fat around the waistline better than cutting fat. So clearly low-carb trumps low-fat in the heart health department — it decreases pericardial fat, boosts good cholesterol and does away with that dangerous belly fat. It helps you lose weight too. People who ate low-carb Mediterranean diets slimmed down all over… not just in their waist and their heart.
Based on this study, you may be considering a low-carb Mediterranean diet for yourself… and you should! But how do you go low-carb and Mediterranean simultaneously- it’s pretty easy. Just follow these simple guidelines:
- Steer clear of added sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup found in processed foods.
- Stay away from refined carbs like white bread, pasta and white rice.
- Get your carbs from whole grains and beans
- Eat loads of colorful vegetables, especially green leafy ones to load up on vitamin K2.
- Stick to one to two servings of low-sugar fruit per day, like berries, apples or pears.
- Pack in the protein. Quality is key when it comes to protein, though. Avoid processed meats, and choose fresh local, organic and/or grass-fed meats instead.
- Fill up on healthy fats. That includes full fat dairy products, nuts, avocados and healthy oils like olive oil and coconut oil.
