Mediterranean Diet

                                                                                         

Since the people who live in the Mediterranean basin are healthy, someone came up with the idea of creating the Mediterranean diet. This mild area around the Mediterranean sea includes areas of many countries including France, Italy, Spain, the Balkans and even parts of Africa.

Walter Willett, a professor, created the most widely known form of the Mediterranean diet. In addition to physical activity the diet proposes eating a lot of dairy, fish, and meats along with a healthy dose of olive oil and plant food. The diet strictly control fat so that only a total of about 35% of calories come from fat. Experts consider it a high fiber diet. It has been around since 1945 when the version of the Mediterranean diet was first published Ancel Keyes who lived in Italy. But it did not become popular until the 1990s.

Whereas American diets rely on animal fats, the Mediterranean diet utilizes olive oil. Olive oil is known to lower cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as blood sugar and blood pressure. Olive oil is also good for treating ulcers and for lowering the risk of many types of cancer. The Mediterranean diet is also abundant with red wine which is an antioxidant.

The American Heart Association recommends diets like the Mediterranean diet . The association is concerned about the high amount of fat in the Mediterranean diet. They say obesity is a growing health concern in the Mediterranean basin. However, the American Heart Association does like the fact that most of the fat in the Mediterranean diet comes from olive oil, mono saturated fat, that doesn't raise cholesterol. Researchers aren't sure whether better health in the Mediterranean basin is due to diet or the fact they get a lot of exercise, mostly from walking.

Look around the Internet for more information on the Mediterranean diet.

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