So
what is so healthy about the Mediterranean Diet?
A recent Harvard study showed that people who followed a
Mediterranean Diet had dramatic reduction in death rates among those who
used the diet's guidelines. This reduction is mainly due to the high
percentage of heart healthy monounsaturated fats from olive oil and nuts.
Rather than raising cholesterol and damaging blood vessels with the build
up of plaque these oils can lower bad cholesterol in the blood.
The participants following the Mediterranean diet in the
study did not necessarily lose weight suggesting that these benefits are
not directly related to obesity. If your are interested in weight
loss also, the
New
Mediterranean Diet puts
the same emphasis on the staples of the Mediterranean Diet while teaching
you to maintain a healthy weight PERMANENTLY.
Mediterranean olive oil is also rich in antioxidant
phyto-nutrients. These "plant"-nutrients protect the body from harmful free
radicals which can damage cells throughout the body. The damage can lead
to plaques within the arteries, cancers, diabetes, arthritis, and many
other diseases. These nutrients work together with vitamins and
minerals to prevent damage by free radicals, thus it is important to eat a
variety of whole foods in various combinations to help prevent free
radical damage.
Whole grains are another category of foods important in
the Mediterranean Diet. Many popular diets such as the Atkins Diet
prohibit carbohydrate consumption however in the Mediterranean Diet they
are at the very base of the pyramid. The key pint is that these
grains need to be WHOLE grains and not refined white-flour foods.
Processing whole grains into white flour based products
takes out all of the beneficial nutrients and fiber. Eating refined
carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice and sweets raises your blood
sugar and causes surges insulin. In the short term, insulin
eventually causes your sugar to drop again leading to hunger and
overeating. But in the long term it causes your body to become
resistant to insulin increasing your risk of diabetes.
Whole grains boost your metabolism and are absorbed
slowly thus control blood sugar reducing your risk of insulin resistance
and diabetes. The fiber in WHOLE grains slows cholesterol absorption
and lowers blood fat levels. When buying whole grain products look
for whole grain or whole wheat as the first ingredient. Try to pick
products with the highest amount of dietary fiber per serving. Keep in
mind that whole grains like other carbohydrates are still high in calories
so they still need to be eaten in moderation.
