♫ Live it

♫ I'm gonna live it

♫ Live it

- What comes to mind when you think of the Mediterranean?

Perhaps a pristine Italian coastline

or a dream vacation destination.

Or how about food?

The Mediterranean diet has many health benefits

that can lower our risk for heart disease.

- [Mark] It's a sobering reality

that one in every four deaths in America

is a result of heart disease.

One of the main risk factors is having high cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance.

And when your body makes too much of it,

it can build up on the walls of your arteries.

This buildup restricts the amount of blood

and oxygen carried throughout your body

and can result in a stroke, heart attack,

or other forms of heart disease.

- [Patricia] Eating a traditional Mediterranean diet

lowers our risk for heart disease.

- The traditional Mediterranean diet

is legumes and vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts,

olive oil instead of butter and other types of fat,

small amounts of dairy products

and small amounts of meat.

- [Patricia] The Mediterranean diet has many health benefits

because it contains high amounts of antioxidants,

protein, and omega-3s.

- [Mark] But you should shift from avoiding fats entirely

to adding healthy fats into your diet

that fight bad cholesterol.

- [Patricia] To get the good and saturated fats,

substitute olive oil, nuts, and seeds,

as well as avocados into your diet.

You can use olive oil for salad dressings,

stir-fry, make desserts, or replace butter

by dipping your bread in olive oil.

- The fats in olive oil are mostly monounsaturated,

which help lower cholesterol.

- [Mark] The second tip is eat more legumes,

like beans, lentils, and garbanzos.

A traditional Mediterranean food like hummus

is made from garbanzo beans and oil from whole sesame seeds.

Try adding hummus to your next sandwich

or use it as a dip for pita bread,

carrot sticks, and other vegetables.

- The third tip is to eat

more nuts and seeds like almonds and walnuts.

One thing you can try is instead of having

a candy dish on a table, fill it with almonds.

This way, as you and your family members walk by,

you'll pick up a quick and healthy snack.

There's your tip for the day

on how you can live healthier longer.

♫ Live it

♫ I'm gonna live it

♫ Live it