The Mediterranean Diet provides many significant
nutritional and cardiovascular health benefits that a typical American
diet lacks.
A recent Harvard study suggests that following a
Mediterranean Diet may lead to lower incidence of heart disease, high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer*.
After all, the incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean countries is
significantly lower than in the United States.
The Mediterranean
Diet is based on eating fresh, heart healthy and delicious ingredients
most of which come right out the ground and into your mouth without ever
seeing the inside of a manufacturing plant.
These fresh ingredients include Mediterranean olive oil, tomatoes, grapes, nuts, berries and whole
grains.
The Greek and Italian cuisines are excellent example of
the traditional Mediterranean diet. Their recipes contain variety of
colorful and flavorful foods that are high in nutrients and antioxidants
while being low in animal fats. Although there are many regional
variations of cooking throughout the Mediterranean countries, in general
grain-foods such as pasta, breads, rice, and couscous are mixed in a
variety of interesting ways with vegetables, beans, fish, poultry, nuts,
cheeses and meat.
The
Mediterranean Diet Pyramid and the USDA Food Pyramid have many
similarities. At both bases are grain products, followed by fruits and
vegetables. However, moving up the pyramid you will notice that in the
Mediterranean Pyramid olive oil takes a more prominent role as an
important source of healthy fat within the diet. Additionally
whereas in the USDA food pyramid meat, poultry and fish are lumped
together as protein sources, In the Mediterranean Diet they are separated
with fish and poultry recommended weekly and red meat a few times per
month.
FACT: Contrary to what most people think,
following a Mediterranean Diet does NOT necessarily mean that you will
lose weight.
This is mainly because of the high percentage of fat
in the diet. But unlike the saturated fats that we commonly eat
(such as butter, margarine, vegetable oil, trans fats) the primary fats of
the Mediterranean Diet consist of monounsaturated fats (found in Olive
Oil) which provide the health benefits for your heart but not necessarily
your waist line. (But lets face it: No fat is good for the waist
line.)
If weight loss is your primary goal I recommend
following The New
Mediterranean Diet
which teaches you how to apply the principles of the Mediterranean diet
to a lifestyle geared toward maintaining a healthy weight.
To embrace the Mediterranean Diet and its benefits
you must embrace a new way of thinking about food and about living. It
is not just the diet that is important but the Mediterranean
lifestyle...being active, consuming alcohol in moderation, not smoking and
a more healthy outlook on life.
Read on and I will show you the essentials elements to
leading a healthier life following the Mediterranean Diet.
*Knoops, K. and Esposito, K.
The Journal of the American Medical Association, Sept. 22/29, 2004;
vol 292: pp 1433-1439 and 1440-1446
