The Mediterranean Diet Explained

The Mediterranean Diet is a diet that one can adopt for life for a range of health benefits without starving themselves or risking deleterious health effects due to poor nutrition or excessive calorie reduction. The Mediterranean Diet is not a diet necessarily designed to help one lose weight, but rather is patterned after the foods that are naturally eaten in the area around the Mediterranean Sea.

Mediterranean Diet Food Choices

The people of the Mediterranean tend to avoid red meat, alcohol, and dairy products as a major part of their daily diets. Instead they eat a much greater proportion of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and fish. When oil is used for cooking or salad dressing, olive oil is used in place of oils that have higher levels of saturated fats. Since the Mediterranean Diet is designed to improve overall health rather than to help one reach a specific weight goal, there is no general target for the number of calories consumed.

Mediterranean Diet Promotes Longer Life

The Mediterranean diet is believed to provide higher levels of nutrients with fewer harmful fats resulting in strong protections against many diseases that are related to poor diets. Indeed, a study published by the British Medical Journal¹ as far back as April, 2005 showed not only improved health, but a longer life expectancy among those who followed the typical Mediterranean Diet most closely. The study suggested that a typical man of 60 years old who followed the Mediterranean diet closely had a life expectancy of one year greater than a man of the same age who did not follow the Mediterranean Diet.

Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Numerous other studies have found very strong protective effects against a number of serious diseases and health conditions including an 83% reduction in the incidence of diabetes² and a 68% lower risk of contracting Alzheimer's Disease³ in those who followed the Mediterranean diet compared to those who did not. Similar protections were found for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), asthma, heart disease and more⁴.

Losing Weight with the Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean Diet does not promise a quick fix or a rapid weight loss as do so many of today's unhealthy fad diets. Instead, it offers a sensible template for a lifetime of health based on making permanent changes to one's selection of food. For those wishing to lose weight, temporary reductions in the total caloric intake can be made with the Mediterranean Diet as easily as any other diet. Doctors recommend a sensible reduction in the intake of calories combined with a program of regular exercise as the best way to lose weight for those without other serious health issues. All new exercise programs should be reviewed with your family doctor prior to their start.

The Verdict on the Mediterranean Diet

While fad diets come and go and often experience periodic resurgences in popularity, the Mediterranean Diet is one that has withstood the test of time and the rigor of scientific scrutiny over and over again. If better health and longer life are among your goals in choosing a diet, there simply isn't a better choice than the Mediterranean Diet.

Sources:

1. British Medical Journal (2005, April 25). Mediterranean Diet Leads To Longer Life. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2005/04/050425111008.htm
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3. British Medical Journal (2008, January 16). Mediterranean Diet In Pregnancy Helps Ward Off Childhood Asthma And Allergy. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/01/080115170113.htm
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5. JAMA and Archives Journals (2006, October 12). Mediterranean Diet Associated With Reduced Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2006/10/061010022729.htm
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7. Sylvester, Brad. Mediterranean Diet Health Benefits are Many. Associated Content. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/886397/mediterranean_diet_health_benefits.html