Mediterranean Diet and Health Benefits

The Mediterranean Diet

Vegetables, fresh and delicious grains, fish, beans prepared with olive oil, and a number of various herbs, cheese, nuts, and some of the bread. Those are the key elements of the traditional diet, based largely on plants for peoples of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It is not only delicious food, but it seems to protect against heart disease, and a lot of chronic conditions. The diet of the Mediterranean Sea is not the traditional system of food only of its kind useful for health. However, it was subjected to study for a longer period than any other; it is also practical for the majority of Americans. It corresponds well with the latest on nutrition perceptions. The experts stress the need to rely on a comprehensive plan for food. Mediterranean countries have diverse cultures, peoples and individuals dealing with food itself. The Mediterranean cuisine relies on legumes - plants that provide us with peas, lentils, and beans. It is an excellent source of protein low-fat, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which compensate for the meat. Use spices, Mediterranean diet benefit from the ideal climate for the growth of herbs and spices, which provide taste, and add nutrients, and compensate for the salt. Also has some medical benefits, for example, the mint helps indigestion.

Yet the pattern of Mediterranean Diet has been identified in the fifties of the last century, within an influential study is the Seven Countries Study under the supervision of Ansell Keys, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, has been spent more than a decade in the study of life style, especially the impact of diet, and its relationship to heart disease and blood vessels, with about 13 thousand men in Finland, and southern Italy, the islands of Corfu, Crete, Greece, Japan, and Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, the United States. Keys was interested, in particular, high-fat food, and was one of the first researchers who uncovered the existence of «good» and «bad» fat, and pointed out that despite the limited medical care, and sometimes at the same time, increased intake of fat, participants in the study of the Italians and Greeks, lived for a longer life, and recorded with the lowest rates of heart disease. The fat that has been dealt with in Italy and Greece, in general, was unsaturated fats, and derived mainly from olive oil or fish. The highest rates of heart disease have been detected in countries where individuals deal with saturated fats such as Finland and United States. «Study of Seven» has provided to the world, the diet of the Mediterranean Sea, which was modeled along the lines of the prevailing model for lunch on the island of Crete in the fifties and sixties of the last century. However, the term «the diet of the Mediterranean», adopted in one form or another in 1993, during the conference organized by the School of Public Health at Harvard University with a non-profit organization that promotes the education and means of nutrition and food systems of traditional civilizations.

The experts gave Harvard the feed, a description of the diet; Mediterranean diet has been coming on plant foods, with animal proteins that are addressed primarily in the form of fish and chicken, and olive oil as the most important fat intake. They also observed that this system is complemented by exercises which take the form of «work in the field or kitchen». The other aspects of the lifestyle of the Mediterranean basin, which added to his diet, they contribute without any doubt to the health of its people. However, there are indications that the Mediterranean diet, alone, provides protection mission.

A Spanish study showed that 13 thousand and 380 people who followed the Mediterranean diet, had a lower 83 per cent risk of diabetes type II, compared with those who did not bother using that system seriously. The research found that eating according to the Mediterranean diet leads to an improvement in cases of joint pain, and reduce the risk of pulmonary embolism, as well as reduce the risk of recurrence of colon cancer. We do not know all the mechanisms that make a healthy Mediterranean diet completely, but research assumes the existence of a number of factors. And one reason only, the monounsaturated fat in olive oil and fish, have anti-inflammatory effects, which may help in the prevention of heart disease, and many other diseases. The fiber in whole grains and legumes can help for digestion, and maintaining disciplined levels of blood sugar. The fiber also creates a feeling of fullness, a sense reduces the appetite - and this is one of the levers to reduce the increase in weight. the other elements in a vegetarian diet also have influences on the cellular level, and the aging process, the process of development of cancer, and the process of the body's response to chemotherapy. Well, of course, eating according to the Mediterranean diet excludes many of the foods that are known to cause health problems such as saturated fat from animal sources, trans fat and refined carbohydrates, which the refinery.

The Mediterranean diet has several advantages. The elements are already available, and can be prepared easily and quickly, the food varied and delicious taste. And dealt with after meals, it will not let you feel hungry or deprived. Use plenty of vegetables that almost are rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories. It is rich in fiber, and saturated with elements of health-promoting. The key here is diversity; you must deal with different kinds. Instead of exposing them to steam or boil, try grilled or placed in the oven. Make salad a main dish for you, with the addition of nuts and small pieces of chicken or fish, and grated cheese. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, such as it is, a few in the caloric value of general and saturated nutrients, and antioxidants, and fiber. Most fruits naturally have sweet taste, so it can serve as a snack or a great substitute for sweets and a meal. Type of fruit; definitely put them over the power. At breakfast in the morning you can eat whole grains or products with milk, yogurt and berries or pieces of banana. Eating nuts which contain a lot of antioxidants and other nutrients, For example, nuts contains «Omega-3» fatty acids, which reduce the risk of heart disease and blood vessels, and has adverse effects of the aging of the brain and skin. Unlike the light products made from refined grains or mixed with sugar refinery, the nuts have a function pointer a little sugar. However, the nuts are high in calories, so they fill the hunger. Therefore, try not to deal with more than a handful of them (160 to 180 calories) per day. Sprinkle with almonds cooked vegetables section. Dip fish or chicken with olive oil and crushed nuts, before grilled. Eating whole grains, which contain mostly carbohydrates that we need for energy consumption. However, refined grains, such as white pasta, white rice, white bread, chips and products such as cornflakes and snacks refinery, are virtually devoid of nutrients, including fiber cereal flakes. With little or no fiber therein, which slows digestion, the grain refinery cause sudden increases in blood sugar level. Over time, this may lead to weight gain, heart disease and other disorders. Whole grains are rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins and have an influential role in the stability of the level of blood sugar. Perhaps you are now addressing bread from whole grains, brown rice, oats, but there are plenty of other delicious options.

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