Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
August 6th, 2009
You may want to go directly to the Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Plan
The Mediterranean Diet is more than a diet. It is a lifelong living style. You have to adopt it, as a religion. Decades ago, it was the natural way of life of many people around the Mediterranean Basin, especially in Spain, Italy and Greece. High activity, Mediterranean nutrition, anti stress attitudes and not much money shaped a culture that can be declared soon Immaterial Human Heritage by UNESCO. Nowadays, these circumstances have changed in the mentioned countries, but many responsible people are still keeping or returning to what is considered to be the healthiest diet in the world.
The Mediterranean Diet is also the best way to prevent many diseases. The most important are the “brain ictus” or stroke (first cause of death in women and second in men) and the “myocardial infarction” or heart attack (the main cause in men), but are many more. It has been proved the important role of the Mediterranean Diet in the prevention of the metabolic syndrome (some health disorders of which the most important are: too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure and/or insulin levels and unbalanced levels of cholesterol. So it has been in the prevention of lung diseases, asthma, many allergies, Parkinson, Alzheimer, and also for keeping the bone mass in elderly people. Recently, it has been related the Mediterranean Diet with low incidences of many types of cancer.
Do not forget that the original Mediterranean Diet characteristics were:
- High consumption of virgin olive oil.
- High intake of vegetables and fruits and legumes.
- Use of non refined carbohydrates (portions to be adjusted to physical activity).
- Consumption of fish, specially oily (or “bluish” one) three o for times a week
- Consumption of milk and derivates, cheese and yogurt (the original cheese was fresh goat cheese). Keep an eye on the saturated fats of the dairy products. Not too much!
- Three or four eggs per week.
- Moderate consumption of meat and saturated fats.
- One or two small glasses of wine a day, preferably red and at the main meals. White wine and beer are alternatives.
- Nuts as snacks
Of course, if you want to reduce your weight, you will have to choose the less caloric nutrients. Or the opposite, if you want to increase it.
People bound to Mediterranean Diet have a 70% more of expectancy of life and a 80% of better quality life, supposing they do not smoke. By the way, if you want a healthy life, what is the use of smoking? This is another effect of the Mediterranean Diet. Most of the real followers of this style of life do not smoke of stop doing it. The physical activity and a bigger awareness of the importance of health are the main drives.
But being a Mediterranean Diet follower not only means choosing your food. It is also of capital importance knowing what you should avoid. They are the artificial products that did not exist fifty or sixty years ago: artificially hydrogenated products and derivates, and anything containing of being suspect of contain trans-fat. In USA, It is compulsory from January 1st 2006 to indicate in the labels the trans fat proportion. You should choose products with 0% of trans fats. Nevertheless, you have to take into account that 0% means really up to 0.49 grams per serving. If the serving is small and you take many, you may be eating a lot of these fats. They are responsible for increasing the bad cholesterol (LDL) and reducing the good one (HDL), apart from other supposed effects that are being investigated.
As Mediterranean Diet is a very important cultural element, it has to be learned as soon as possible. Parents have to learn how to manage their children food habits. They have to learn how to avoid manufactured products and substitute them by fresh and natural food. Stop buying wrapped things and give them instead an apple, a banana or a homemade sandwich. Be careful with the main meals, and supervise the schools lunches. It is of utmost importance.
Remember that your body and brain age will depend on what you eat!
FAQS. POST:
To FAQ 1. ¿Who invented the Mediterranean Diet?
To FAQ 2. Who discovered the Mediterranean Diet?
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