Diet and Heart Disease

Even though people with multiple risk factors for heart disease are more likely to suffer a heart attack, those without risk factors are much more likely to die from their first heart attack.

To keep heart problems from sneaking up on you, practice heart-healthy behaviors for life. According to Caldwell Esselstyn, MD, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Reversal program at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, “Everyone who eats a Western diet has signs of heart disease by the time they reach young adulthood. The only way to keep it from progressing is to limit saturated fats and cholesterol found in meat and dairy.”

Adopt a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet that’s rich in whole grains, legumes, fruit and vegetables.