The Best Diet to Fight Atherosclerosis

Instead of struggling to find the latest fad diet, let exercise take care of you weight problem and concentrate on “eating healthily”. (I guess “healthily” betrays my origins – nowadays people would say “eat healthy”.) Professor Alpert of Tucson, Arizona, has put together the best features of the Atkins diet, the Mediterranean diet, low-carb diet, and healthy advice from nutritionists, and he’s come up with what he calls “the American Mediterranean diet”. It’s published in the American Journal of Medicine¹; here are the salient points.

1. Decrease your intake of simple carbohydrates (fruits, juices, honey, sugar etc.) and substitute complex carbs, such as beans, whole-grain foods, and nuts.

2. Decrease or eliminate animal fats. If you must have red meat, emphasize the lean. Broil or bake – never fry.

3. Plenty of olive oil or peanut oil. Canola oil is second-best. Avoid trans fats like the plague – foods are now labeled with their trans fat content.

4. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and nuts (especially almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts). Six to nine servings a day may sound a lot, but it would be ideal.

5. Eat seafood (especially the oily fish from the northern oceans) as your main source of protein; salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, anchovies, and halibut are best. White meat from chicken and turkey is better than red or the dark meat of poultry.

6. Tofu (bean curd) products may taste than you think they will; they are a good source of protein and complex carbs.

7. Take only a little of food containing sugars or corn syrup, as they raise blood sugar and thus a strong insulin response.

Professor Alpert goes on to include exercise with his list of dietary recommendations (40 minutes aerobic a day and 30 minutes weights 3 days a week!), but I didn’t think it belonged here. If you eat the way he says you’ll be over half way to your goal –atherosclerosis-free!

¹ This article cannot be viewed without a subscription. The reference is Alpert JS . What diet should we recommend to patients? Am J Med2006;119:715-716.