The Mediterranean Diet can Improve your heart health

The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional model inspired by the traditional diets of some countries in the Mediterranean Basin, particularly Greece and Southern Italy. Common features of the diets of these regions are a high consumption of fruit and vegetables, bread, wheat and other cereals, pasta, olive oil, fish, and red wine. The diet is believed to be beneficial for being low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber.

The Mediterranean Diet has drawn attention because it is delicious and healthy. Researchers that have spent a lot of time studying people’s eating habits in the Mediterranean region, particularly Greece and Southern Italy came to the conclusion that people from this part of the world tended to live longer and also had fewer heart attacks compared to the developed countries of the world despite eating a lot of fatty food.

Very Delicious Though Rich In Fat And Carbohydrates.
When you evaluate at the Italian and Greek foods, you will find that besides being very delicious a Mediterranean diet is rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates. Mediterranean diners enjoy their food and linger over their meals. This diet is quite different from the USDA food pyramid due to more fat and carbohydrates in the Mediterranean food pyramid.

The Mediterranean diet contains plenty of complex carbohydrates including pasta, breads and whole grain foods. The diet recommends eating several fruits and vegetables servings during the day. A couple of daily servings of legumes and nuts are suggested as well.

The Mediterranean food pyramid recommendation is to use olive oil and other mono-unsaturated oils like peanut and canola oil for cooking. Unlike the high amount of animal fats typical to the American diet, olive oil lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Lowfat cheese and yogurt should be consumed daily. The Mediterranean food pyramid also includes plenty of fish which may be consumed several times each week.

The Mediterranean food pyramid recommends curtailing the amount of poultry and eggs, though it should not stop you from eating them a few times during the week. Consumption of sweets should be limited to just a few times in a week. Red meat consumption should be severely curtailed and eaten just occasionally during the month.

As with any diet, the Mediterranean food pyramid recommends drinking plenty of water daily, six glasses is the general guideline. One or two daily glasses of red wine are recommended. If you are not a wine drinker, grape juice is a recommended substitute. Following these Mediterranean food pyramid recommendations can improve your health and reduce the chances of a heart attack.

This article on diet is in no way intended to be medical advice. It is recommended that you check with your doctor or other medical professional before making major changes in your diet.

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